It's like with everything with parenthood you don't understand what other parents are going through at different stages of your child growing up until you experience it yourself. I am in full swing now of the primary school stage where I curse the school run but dread the what are we going to do during school holidays.
Year 1 means we are being broken in gently into the realities of homework. I know there can be quite heated debate about how much they get, they need time to play and so on. The reality for me is that my wee man doesn't know how to break the rules so if he knows there is an expectation for him to do something it means he has to do it. Of course that doesn't mean he necessarily willingly does it. I still need to remind him and make sure time is made to get it done. When it's due date and he doesn't have anything to hand in he looks at me because apparently it's my fault! I should be grateful that I get quite a few weeks notice for things like the termly school project but it's never really enough time. Obviously it's simply about my child learning and not worrying about what the other parents are doing! People the competition can be stiff and they don't even get a reward for it! There is nothing like the pressure of walking into school on the morning of when the project is due when you get to compare with what others have done.
It's the extra curricular activities that get me, the ones that raise money which you technically don't have to do. Heavens forbid if my son were to turn up at school and discover that he didn't do anything to contribute to said activity! Oh the pressure! I never new I could be so creative. What did parents do before Pinterest? You can win prizes for these ones but obviously we are still waiting.
Thankfully though I am lucky that I seem to have a son who is actually enjoying school. He is making some really good friendships and playdates can actually now make life easier. He really has a joy for reading and is pretty good with his numbers. Parents teachers evening always go down well and make me truly proud. This is the reality of being a school mum which matters the most.
