Invisible Lines

Life is full of invisible lines. These lines can be broken into a lot of different categories, but since this blog is about Micah, I won't go into all of that.

Parenting has some difficult lines. It's easy to decide where a lot of life's lines are when it involves just you, but the decisions we have to make as parents always feel so much bigger. There is no way we can guess the implications of our decisions.

Potty training is a line. At what point do I take away Micah's Kindle and tell him he IS going to potty train. He doesn't see a point in potty training right now. He knows what to do. He isn't scared of the process anymore. He has told Chris a few times that he had to go number two and went to the potty. All of the signs are there that it is time, but the decision is when do I start pushing him? I have read and heard a lot about how important it is to potty train properly, but what does that even mean?

Teaching Micah is another line. Micah is ready to tackle addition and subtraction. I have worked with him on it and he gets it. I know that if I make math time at home a regular thing, he will be very comfortable with it by this summer. But, he is just going to be 4. Micah ADORES learning, but is there a point where he will be too far ahead?

I want Micah to learn piano. Lessons will cost $120/month. There is some great software I found that will teach Micah piano and how to read music. It's about $100/6 months. The software is much easier on the budget, but how much computer time is too much?

I've also been told joining the YMCA would be very good for Micah. Equine therapy is supposed to be great. Oh, getting a dog. Gymnastics has been great. There is occupational therapy. He does speech therapy at school. There are parenting groups you can join to help with Autism. I can request someone to come to the house to help him with stimming. I've considered yoga and tai chi to help him with stimming. How much therapy is too much? At what point do I help him get over things and when do I decide that he is who he is. When is there too much "fixing"?

These are decisions I am making. Some of the decisions are easy. I will be getting Micah the piano software. A dog can't happen right now because we live in an apartment. I don't want therapy at my house. We're not doing Equine therapy at this point and I don't want to join a parenting group. Micah is going to lose his Kindle soon for potty training. I am going to explain that the Kindle is for big boys and if he "number twos" in his diaper, he loses it. He needs that push. We're going to be doing more and more math and I am looking to see if I can find a kid's yoga DVD that him and I can do together.

Autism seems to add to the parenting invisible lines. Micah doesn't process and communicate the way other kids do.  I have to take this into consideration and remind myself to be patient. These lines are going to get more difficult as he grows up, but as he grows, he is going to be more involved in these decisions. It's going to be fun.

Have a good one,
Jozlin