Mom Evaluation

I love being a full-time stay-at-home-mom. I feel very privileged and lucky to be able to be with my little guy everyday and see him learn, grow and take on all kinds of new challenges. I find immense joy in spending my days going on adventures and playing with Aiden. I really am living the dream.

But what I absurdly find challenging is not the moments where Aiden is having a rough time or the lack of adult conversation, it is the lack of formal measuring and evaluation tools. We spend our entire lives being evaluated - in school we take tests, in the work world we have performance appraisals and reviews, and call me crazy but I actually like having these in place. Evaluations give me a sense of security, knowing where I'm at and what I need to do to improve and grow. But in my career as a Mom, there is nothing like this in place.

What I have come to realize is that at the end of the day it is not so much a grade or a score that matters. It is all about whether you have a happy, secure and healthy little person - it's more a case of the proof is in the pudding or rather in the little person.

But just for fun I thought I'd share with you my criteria for measuring my daily success at being the best Mom I can be.

Criteria For A Great Day
Did your day include the following?
1. Free play
2. Reading/story time
3. Imaginative play
4. Creative project
5. Music and movement time
6. Active play
7. Outdoor play (weather permitting)
8. An outing to somewhere with people other than just the two of us
9. Singing/finger songs
10. Discovery activity
11. Learning activity
12. Quiet time

Did you provide the following?
1. Healthy, nutritious food for meals and snacks
2. Hugs, kisses, tickles and cuddles
3. Full-undivided attention during the day
4. Opportunities to nap and sleep in a comfortable environment
5. Words of praise and encouragement
6. Opportunities to try something new
7. Chances to practice already learned skills
8. A safe, happy environment
9. Fun activities
10. Conversational topics to encourage communication

Is your little person the following?
1. Happy most of the time
2. Secure
3. Hitting milestones
4. Healthy
5. Engaged with the world
6. Sweet, gorgeous, adorable and lovely

If you answered yes to most of these, well done, you are doing a marvelous job!

Happy evaluation,
Creatively yours,
Maya:)