I have three boys under 3, including twins who are 10 months old. The challenge for this mama right now is to get through the day without our 2 ½ year old doing bodily harm to either of his twin brothers. Now in fairness, our biggest boy, Wade, doesn’t exactly mean to inflict harm, not most of the time anyway. But even when he’s attempting to love on, play with, or just touch one of his brothers, he does it a little too vigorously.
For months, honestly, I’ve taken the easy way out and separated them for much of the day. I’ll take Wade or the twins to an activity and someone in my family or our part-time nanny will take the other. But after a while, you realize that the whole point in going for another child in the first place was to be a family, to spend time together.
And yes, we’ve been working on discipline, and I’m feeling good about our plan of attack (we’re trying “1-2-3 Magic” (more on that in another blog soon.) Some days, though, it feels like if we get through a morning without a timeout, we are doing great. So rather than just reacting to bad behavior all the time, I’ve been looking for ways to be proactive, to find activities that all three boys can enjoy together without me worrying about their health. Pools, playgrounds, and the like have their added challenges for twin moms!
One of my tried and true activities for Wade – music class – has proven a great avenue for me in this latest endeavor. I enrolled all three boys in a “Music Together” class this summer, and as cheesy as it sounds, the “Together” part took on new meaning for me. Our boys enjoyed the class and for most of the time stayed out of each other’s way. That made mama so relieved and happy!
I took another caregiver with me each week because I still like having extra hands if I need them. But the folks at Music Together, most notably our teacher, Lucy Chapman, who just happens to be a great friend of mine from high school, always made me feel at ease about bringing all three, even if on my own. Every Music Together class I’ve ever been to has had a culture where the parents and caregivers all seemed compassionate and understanding and don’t mind helping out when you need it.
Lucy was terrific. She sang and smiled her way through the occasional disruptions when Wade got a little too amped up, and she gave me a big dose of confidence to keep getting out there with all three. For that I’m so grateful!
Open registration for fall classes at Music Together begins on August 20. I highly recommend it, for so many reasons, this is just my latest one!
For more information, go to their website, www.musictogetherofcharlotte.com. To register, go to https://musictogetherofcharlotte.com/classes.htm.
