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| Three sisters get their daily dose of Korean TV. / Courtesy of Jane Han |
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So it's been exactly a week since our dear nanny left.
As expected, there have been a few occurrences of mommy meltdowns throughout the seven whole days she's been gone.
I realized that going to the playground with me as the only supervising adult is like being on some kind of intense physical challenge reality show, where the contestant (me) is challenged to successfully prevent three flying balls from touching the ground.
And yes, my girls would be the flying balls.
I wish I was speaking figuratively, but the three toddlers really play like bouncing balls. Pretty funny sight.
Another funny sight is at the grocery store.
I decided to be brave and take all three to a nearby Korean supermarket, where they have normal-sized grocery carts, where you can only fit two in the cart ― one in the seat and one in the basket. Which leaves one to walk, run or pull some crazy act.
For some odd reason, we always seem to have the biggest disagreements at the grocery store over who sits where.
So of course, that day, the girls threw a pretty big fit over not being able to sit where they each wanted.
I quickly and successfully settled the situation by using the good old bribing method.
They got a bag of Korean snack to share and we miraculously managed to finish grocery shopping and return home in one piece.
But I promised myself that, when I'm the only chaperone, we will only go to retailers that offer carts that fit at least three kids.
Basically what this means is that we will only go to Costco.
Another thing I noticed after the nanny's departure is the change in screen time at our house.
Screen time is a pretty big issue among parents.
I think most parents can probably relate to being in some level of love-hate relationship with the television or iPad because of their kids.
There have been a countless number of times when my iPad or mobile device saved me from a dire situation in the car, airplane or even a restaurant by magically settling a tantrum and giving my children inner peace.
But there were definitely other times when I had to repeatedly turn down my children's request to "turn something on."
I don't want to be that inconsistent mom who is quick to turn something on when she needs the time, but in all honesty, I can't say that I was never that mom.
When it comes to TV, my general rule is to allow them to watch one 30-minute episode of "TV Kindergarten," a Korean equivalent to "Sesame Street," in the morning and "Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten," another 40-minute "educational" show, in the afternoon. No cartoons, including Pororo.
It sort of became a natural routine for the girls to watch the morning show when their nanny arrived for work at 9 a.m., but since a week ago, since the nanny never arrived in the morning, the kids never asked to watch TV in the morning.
I guess the doorbell sort of served as their trigger to turn on the TV.
Now, they just play, read and do their activities, sometimes with me sometimes without, until we leave for a brief outing before lunch.
I'm so thankful for this change because many times kids interestingly turn cranky after watching TV. They usually don't end up satisfied with just one episode, but throw tantrums as they demand for more.
Like other parents, I never appreciated that kind of behavior and often had trouble settling an upset child after getting too much screen time.
While writing this piece, I did some research on how experts advise parents to handle screen time.
It turns out, as of last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the authority on babies and children, has changed their stance on screen time.
Before, they said no screens for children under two and a maximum of two hours for children over two.
But they said their previous policy for children below two may no longer be valid because times have changed so much and media is now just another environment.
The AAP's new position certainly makes me feel a little less guilty when I see my 15-month-Lauren planting herself next to her sisters and getting absorbed into the TV set.
But that shouldn't mean I'm now going to go all out and leave the TV on 24/7, although it does give me a little relief as I'm still trying to get used to the post-nanny era.
After close to three short years of parenting, I figured if I'm not going to actively engage myself in playtime with the kids, we need to at least go outdoors and let nature be their playmate.
Fortunately, we live in Texas, where nature is plentiful just outside our doorstep.
The only catch here is that I'm the least nature-loving person that anyone will ever meet.
Ah, who said parenting is easy?
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