Parents are often surrounded by books,articles, and even the media telling us what to expect as a parent. What they don’t tell us is the real events to expect. Honestly, were you expecting the little brown floater in the tub or even the items that you have found in the nose or ears. These things are what you should be expecting even though every child is different.
Be expecting thing of all sorts! Here are a few things as a mother I was not expecting:
Your child gets mad or think he or she will be funny and uses a curse word. Even worse if you are in public, the stares you get are horrible. One thing I learned is do not laugh, even if it is hard not to. If you laugh they will keep on and on. Investing in a otoscope is always a smart choice. I bought one for very cheap. You can use it for checking for ear infections, my original reason for buying it, but more importantly it becomes very handy when checking for items your child has jammed in their ears or nose. I learned this when my daughter decided to see if pizza sounded as good as it tasted. If you want to avoid huge embarrassment then this is a great lesson to teach. Explain to your child that passing gas should be kept a secret and never blame it on someone. I was shopping down a very crowded aisle and my daughter passes gas. It gets even worse, she then yells “Mommy, you just farted and you stink!” I was embarrassed and left the aisle fast.
You should always be expecting the unexpected when dealing with children. We all expect the sleepless nights and the many milestones, but we should also be expecting the many ways a child decides to humor themself. The unexpected happens just as much as the expected and we all end up with lessons learned.