14 mumsy things I do even when I’m not with my children

Family life

When you spend the majority of your time being a parent, sometimes it’s hard to switch off. Do you find yourself doing any of the following things when your children are not around? Any you’d add to the list?

  1. Sing along to the nursery rhymes CD when I’m in the car on my own before realising that there are no little people with me and I can put my choice of music on.
  2. Say, “Look! There’s a tractor/fire engine/horsey!” before realising I am speaking to myself, and then getting disappointed that there’s no one in the car to appreciate it.
  3. Put the TV on and absent-mindedly watch the children’s channels. Not quite as bad as one of my mummy friends though who deliberately re-watches kiddie programmes when her children are in bed because she wants to find out what happened.
  4. Close the stair gates behind me even though the baby is safely tucked up in his bed.
  5. Put the child lock button on on the washing machine so no one can accidentally change it to the wrong wash cycle.
  6. Wait for the little green man before crossing the road, even when there’s no traffic for miles.
  7. Automatically search for the lift because I’m so used to not being able to use the stairs with a buggy.
  8. Rock from side to side. Admittedly, I don’t do this as much as I used to now that my babies are older, but I remember on more than one occasion rocking from side to side, as if holding a newborn.
  9. Refer to myself as we. I’m so used to saying “we’ll meet you at soft play” or “we’ve got swimming lessons” that it has at times slipped out in work or grown-up scenarios. Goodness knows who my clients think I’m bringing along when I say “we’ll see you at 10am then”, or whether they think I think I’m the Queen or something.
  10. Park my car with enough room either side to get my children out without damaging the neighbouring cars.
  11. Burst into song before realising the tune I’m so passionately singing is a nursery rhyme/kids’ TV theme song/tune from one of their plastic toys.
  12. Cut up sandwiches into little quarters, or ask another grown up if they’d like squares or triangles, and serve it up on a plastic plate without thinking.
  13. Make references to children’s books/TV shows etc. Someone I worked with once said something along the lines of, “That’s not my notebook”, to which I replied “its cover is too red”. Ooops!
  14. Use kiddie speak. We have ‘blue milk’ and ‘green milk’ in our house, raisins are ‘yay yays’ as that’s what my daughter used to call them before she could pronounce it properly. I forget sometimes grown-ups don’t use these words.

Edit:

15. Pushing the trolley back and forth in the supermarket, as if it’s a buggy with a baby in. Thanks to those who have suggested this one. I can’t believe I forgot it first time round! I am definitely guilty of doing that one too!

What about you? Are there any mumsy (or dadsy!) things you do when your offspring are nowhere to be seen? Do let me know via the comments section below, on the Cardiff Mummy Says Facebook page or by tweeting me on @cardiffmummy

17 Comments to 14 mumsy things I do even when I’m not with my children

  1. I thought you may miss one, but you didn’t. Rock, sway. Use kiddie speak lol Oh one I used to do is spell words out OK with kids but at work? Sounds stupid! “Would you like some c a k e ?”

  2. Many of these ring true for me too. We also have blue and green milk in our house. And just at the moment I often find myself singing the theme tune or quoting/re-enacting scenes from the new Danger Mouse series. Sometimes I even do this when the kids are around … 🙂

  3. On a rare night alone I still ran a barely warm bath, because I’m so used to my little munchkin turning my bathtime into family time 🙂

  4. Oh this made me laugh – 13 in particular. I’ve definitely done the rocking from foot to foot, and on my recent weekend away, I had to make a proper effort not to point out all kinds of things to the friend I was travelling with (who’s very definitely able to spot everything herself, and not that interested in tractors!).

  5. Yes lol I’m guilty of the same things!!! It’s impossible to shut off the mommy brain. My husband & I went to a wedding & stayed overnight without the kids & I couldn’t stop being mom. I thought about kids menus, playgrounds etc. This was a really fun read! x

  6. Great list I am guilty of most of these as well! Especially the stair gate and it drives my Hubby mad. I also look for baby change everywhere I go even though Monkey has been out of nappies for almost a year! Monkey still likes to be rocked when he gets the chance! bless xx

  7. Ha ha fab post. I always close the stair gate behind me when mine are in bed or not even here. the tv one annoys me too. We put the kids to bed and leave the kids tv on sometimes up to half hour as we just forget.

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