As a full-time working mom of two little humans\u2014a chatty 6-year-old girl and a cars-obsessed 3-year-old boy\u2014I constantly feel like I\u2019m racing against time. Deadlines at work, kids\u2019 school celebration preparations, laundry, cooking, birthday parties\u2026 it never ends.<\/p>
In all of this chaos, I slipped into a habit I never imagined for myself\u2014expressing love with things, when what I truly meant to give was my time.<\/p>
It didn\u2019t hit me until one quiet evening when my daughter said, \u201cMama, I love talking to Cutie (the name she gave to her beloved doll) more than you\u2026 because she plays with me more.\u201d I smiled. I even laughed it off. But later, in the silence, her words echoed, and they hurt in a place only a parent\u2019s heart understands.<\/p>
The Guilt That Fuels the Shopping Cart<\/strong><\/p> Like many moms, I carry guilt the way I carry wet wipes…everywhere, all the time.<\/p> Guilt for not being home enough.<\/p> Guilt for rushing through story time.<\/p> Guilt for saying \u201cmaybe later\u201d far too often.<\/p> And to make up for it\u2026 I swipe.<\/p> I click.<\/p> I buy.<\/p> Because sometimes, love disguises itself as free shipping and next-day delivery.<\/p> A toy kitchen so my daughter can \u201cplay chef\u201d while I work.<\/p> A new fire truck to keep my son busy while I make dinner.<\/p> A tablet with educational apps because, well, \u201cat least they\u2019re learning something.\u201d<\/p> But deep down, I know the truth.<\/p> They\u2019d trade all of it if I simply sat on the floor and played pretend with them, even if it was just for 15 minutes.<\/p> What My Kids Really Want from Me<\/strong><\/p> If you sit and talk to children you will realize that they rarely remember the toy they got last week, but they always remember: the day they danced in the living room to silly songs,<\/p> the Saturday morning you made pancakes (and burned half of them),<\/p> and that simple walk in the park.<\/p> They don\u2019t want more things.<\/p> They want you.<\/p> Why We Overcompensate<\/strong> (And How to Stop)<\/p> I think a lot of it comes from fear\u2014fear that we\u2019re not doing enough, fear that our kids will feel deprived compared to their peers. Social media doesn’t help. You see perfect lunchboxes and themed bedrooms and think, Am I failing?<\/p> But let\u2019s remind ourselves:<\/p> Our kids don\u2019t scroll Instagram.<\/p> They don\u2019t compare brands; they compare emotions.<\/p> They don\u2019t count gifts, they count hugs, kisses and attention.<\/p> We live in a world that praises busyness and productivity. Somewhere along the way, parenting became about performance\u2014birthday parties that look like Pinterest boards, toys that teach coding at age 2, snacks shaped like zoo animals.<\/p> And in the race to \u201cdo it all,\u201d we lose what really matters.<\/p> Here\u2019s What I\u2019m Learning (slowly, but surely):<\/strong><\/p> Stuff doesn\u2019t replace presence. My attention means more than anything I can order online.<\/p> Emotional presence is a gift. Kids feel safe and seen when we really listen.<\/p> Small moments matter. I don\u2019t need hours\u2014just intention.<\/p> Small Changes I’m Making As A Parent<\/strong><\/p> I\u2019m not throwing out all the toys and I still say yes to Paw Patrol or Gabby and the dollhouse more often than I should. But I\u2019m trying to shift the balance. Here\u2019s what\u2019s helping:<\/p> \u201cNo phone\u201d time from 7 to 8 pm<\/strong>: Just me and the kids, being present.<\/p> One-on-one mini dates:<\/strong> Even if it\u2019s a walk to the grocery store.<\/p> One-on-One Talk Time:<\/strong> Even if it\u2019s five minutes before bed, I ask them about their day.<\/p> Saying \u201cNo\u201d to Stuff:<\/strong> I\u2019ve started delaying instant toy purchases and saving for experiences instead, like a trip to the zoo.<\/p> Saying \u201cYes\u201d to playing, even when I\u2019m tired:<\/strong> Even five minutes of building blocks or colouring.<\/p> Closing Thoughts from a Tired (but Trying) Mom<\/strong><\/p> I\u2019m not writing this as someone who has it all figured out. I\u2019m writing this as someone in the thick of it, learning to pause and reconnect. My kids won\u2019t remember how expensive their toys were. But they will remember whether I looked them in the eye when they spoke, whether I laughed at their jokes, whether I chose them over my to-do list sometimes.<\/p> Let\u2019s give our children fewer things and more of us.<\/p> They deserve it.<\/p> We do too.<\/p> Neetika Roy\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p> Center Head,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p> Ni\u00f1o & Ni\u00f1a Preschool, Sector 116<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a full-time working mom of two little humans\u2014a chatty 6-year-old girl and a cars-obsessed 3-year-old boy\u2014I constantly feel like I\u2019m racing against time. Deadlines at work, kids\u2019 school celebration preparations, laundry, cooking, birthday parties\u2026 it never ends. In all of this chaos, I slipped into a habit I never imagined for myself\u2014expressing love with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","vs-blog blog-single"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5693,"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5691\/revisions\/5693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ninonina.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}