My daughter is a little afraid of mud these days. To a person who loves mud and jumps in puddles regularly, it is a strange thing to have a daughter who is afraid of mud. It’s not entirely unexpected, however. Doesn’t it often seem like children focus on whatever it is you enjoy, and that focus isn’t always positive?
It does give a whole new flavor to rainy days, though. We like the rain and we don’t mind walking in it, but it’s that mud that has us stymied sometimes. We jump over it and around it, and sometimes I stand in it and give her a hand over. I think that a mud pie-making session may also be in order.
Spring comes with a lot of rainy days, and they come in all forms. Recently we spent several days sequestered in our house with the flu. I’m lucky enough to have a child who is quite easy when she’s sick, as long as I sit beside her all day. This used to frustrate me, but now I sit there reading as she sleeps. We read a lot of books during our three-day stint in bed, and we also discovered those lovely paint-with-water books again, the ones with little dots of dried paint on the sheets. My daughter loves those books.
Be willing to accommodate these rainy days. We all have young children, and we all know that young children come with fears and worries and dislikes as well as likes. We find ways to make mud pies out of rainy days and find fun and cuddles when the children are feeling a little down, and that’s ok. It’s all part of the continuum of preschool parenting.
Enjoy your rainy days in April, whatever mud they might bring.