Parenting plan #1: Going simple?

Since starting this blog I've gotten a lot of interest on how we are going to raise Teagan. It's obvious that I'm taking a different approach then most modern mommies (cloth diapers.. though they are making a comeback!) And let me preface by first saying that mine and the hubby's decisions for raising our baby are just that, ours. Yes we have formed options and beliefs of how we want to raise a baby and by no means are judging others who choose to raise their kids differently. We are just taking this route: the KISS approach is probably the best way to describe it.. Keep It Simple Stupid or something like that. We are raising a BABY not making the atom bomb.. though she could very well one day become a scientist or engineer or whoever makes those are! We have observed (in our opinion) too many mommies who get sucked into all the new and fancy "great" things that make raising a baby "better." To which my mom says "wow it's amazing how you survived all those years of me raising you with all the new must have ways to raise a baby." And that really got us thinking on the "it it necessary route" of raising a baby. And I have to be honest and say I've even fallen for it too! However I have some great mommy friends out there who know my goals and reel me back in with "Ok Bre, you REALLY don't need the new fancy boon drying rack that looks like grass with all the accessories that look like pretty flowers when you can spend $15 on a perfectly good regular drying rack.

This series I'm starting will really dedicate to explaining "why" we are making the not so common and mainstream decisions as far as what we choose item wise for our baby or the choice of parenting style that may be different then the "modern" parents. In having discussions with the hubby it became very evident on the item subject that we A: wanted items that could be used long term (more then one baby) B: Budget friendly long term (this is where the lasting long term comes into play) and C: that is  a developmental asset to the baby rather then a "thing." So we developed an approach when it came to deciding on items/ topic of child rearing:

1: Is it necessary? - Does the baby ABSOLUTELY need this item to develop into a normal toddler?
2: Is there a more budget/ eco-friendly approach? - Often times babies grow out of items within a few months with little use, so instead of the fancy name brand item, is there a just as good item for cheaper or maybe get it as a hand me down from a friend or family member?
3: Does it have to be the "best thing"? -Just because a baby needs a stroller or car seat doesn't mean it needs the $500 one from Europe because the lady on daytime television said its the "best thing" for 2015.
4: Is it long lasting? - Will this item last the time of my baby into toddlerhood or only be used for 3 or so months? Is it something that can be stored safely and reused for another baby? Will it break easy, or breakdown after a small period of time?
5: Will it benefit my baby in development? - i.e.: will this item help the baby in speech and language, motor skills, social skills, dexterity, momentum etc.

***It should also be noted that this series will focus on the first 2-3 years of Teagan's life***

Avoiding "characters":
So with that in mind we started with how we are going to dress Teagan. Yes she's a girl, so she will be wearing dresses and cute things that happen to be geared towards girls. But we aren't going to be dressing her like a princess or some other make believe person.

What does this mean you ask? Well we are going to try to stay away from character dressing i.e. no disney clothes or super hero clothing. As most know, I am not the biggest fan of gender dressing in terms of girls wearing princesses and boys wearing the cars and super heroes. We would rather our child have realistic role models to look up to and strive to be like. Also on that note we want our child to be an individual and not fall into what is "in" at the time. We will probably go for clothing that is "non sponsored" as in if you were on a television show they wouldn't have to put a big black ugly piece of tape over the logo or trademarked/ copywriter character. This actually encourages the kid as they get older to be an individual. Having lots of colors to choose from to match up outfits instead of always wanting to wear the Buzz Lightyear shirt. This also kind of goes into our media outlook (later post), if they aren't exposed to all the characters at an early age, they won't have the tantrums about why they charter is so important to them. The only character I would probably let the baby have is something biblical like Jonah and the big fish, or Noah and the ark, but not a Veggietales shirt because that is a character.

We are really striving more on the side of the commandment of:

Exodus 20: 3-4: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  

I personally think when a kid is SO obsessed with buzz lightyear that he or she insists on wearing a toy story shirt of some kind EVERY day, or if they love the HULK so much they insist EVERYDAY they are that character then they in a way are taking an IDOL and forgetting that these characters are make believe. The same can be said for the "girl characters" like Princess Sofia or Doc McStuffin. I don't want my little girl learning to immediately throw  a fit in the store when she sees this character she recognizes (idolizes) and I as her mommy won't get her the toy or whatever is geared toward that character (I'm on to you advertising people and I'm not allowing it in my house!).

Now that's not to say that I won't allow Teagan to know the STORIES of these different characters, but she will learn that they are just that, characters in a story that someone made up for the enjoyment of others for a brief time. As I mentioned before this is for the first two to three years of her life.. and some of you are questioning "ok Bre, really? You REALLY think that letting your kid know Doc McStuffin or the other Disney characters are going to make THAT big of a difference?" To which I answer yes, I have observed MANY kids who get so wrapped up on the characters they see on TV they don't care to go play outside or let alone play with toys in the house. More on this later (tomorrow's post) when I talk about how we are committing on going technology free with Teagan for two years (and have the research to back it up!)

Bottom line is just like I wouldn't let Teagan walk around (ok crawl) in a skull and cross bones, or some shirt with creapy demons on it, I'm not letting her wear characters that begin the brainwashing from advertising companies that will make my kid a holy terror when she's truly old enough to understand and recognize characters. Plus she's going to be a baby! why spend the extra money on the character clothing when you can get twice as many regular clothes for the same price? We want her to dress for the season and not for what's "IN" at the moment. Unless it's snowing and the "in" thing is snow suits (except we are in Arizona and the chances of that happening are slim to none haha).

Until tomorrow! (learn why we are going technology free!)
Bre and Teagan (the Bump)