The One Thing That Helps This Mum Of Boys
Before having Delilah I would eye roll at the #BoyMum posts on Instagram. Seven months in and I still do. However, having spent a fair amount of time with friends who have a son and daughter, the former do seem to have a lot more energy.
I can see how this is physically exhausting, but having watched a three year old daughter negotiate with her mum over how long she should be allowed to watch Peppa Pig for, girls seem to be skilled at wearing you out emotionally and mentally. I’m excited.
One friend, who has a boy and a girl, summed it up well when she said, ‘my son is like a dog that needs to be run and my daughter wants to reach an agreement on everything’. Freelance beauty editor and consultant Cassie has two boys, Wylder, 7, and Lake, 3, also used the dog analogy.
Living in a city, she’s found a hack to ensure she can run down their energy levels without lugging two scooters around. Here’s her story…
We live right in the middle of Shoreditch, so scooters have been very practical with two boys. They both started riding their scooters when they were tiny - Wylder was only 18 months. When Lake was around three years old we retired the buggy for good and transitioned to scooters exclusively.
I can only compare this with my friends who have girls, but as a ‘boy mum’ the energy levels that boys have is off the scale! I liken it to having dogs – come rain or shine we have to let them off the leash to keep them (and us!) sane and to prevent our flat from becoming a daily bombsite.
The scooters have been a Godsend for burning off some of this energy, especially when trying to coax my three year old out after a nap. Lake’s lower energy than his brother and was more wedded to the buggy.
For years, the Scoot ‘n’ Pull strap has been That One Thing for me as it allows us to be out and about all day and cover longer distances without the inevitable ‘I’m tired’ whinging. Despite them both having tons of energy, the reality is that until they’re a little bit older they don’t love walking.
Microscooters are very light, but they’re the most awkward shape to schlep around when they decide they want to have a run around or you need to jump on the Tube. The carry strap made them far more portable and saved my shins from constant bumps and bruises.
The strap has also saved my partner’s shoulders as he has to have them on his shoulders less. You can get straps that incorporate the two functions, like the Banwood Carry Strap.
These days Wylder rarely scoots as he deems it ‘babyish’ despite the millions of e-scooters we have around us!
I started this on a very gendered note, which now seems unnecessary. Whether you’re a ‘boy mum’ and trying to tire them out or a ‘girl mum’ and thrashing out how far they have to scoot before you’ll carry them, the strap sounds like a very solid investment. They work for small bikes too!
We’re slowly approaching the crawling and standing stage, so we’re a way off and I’m still discovering new ways to keep Delilah amused and entertained enough that she’s knackered come 7.30pm. So far, people watching and swimming seem to do the trick, but I’ll welcome all suggestions in the comments below…
We still use our strap on the microscooter because apparently that 'boy energy' only exists like a tornado in our home. L gets very tired all of a sudden when it's time to walk/scoot anywhere. The strap is also handy when you're near roads etc. and HATE to fall into the doggy comparisons again - but, you do 'lead' them up like dog too. Definitely worth the spend. In terms of occupying dear sweet Delilah, sounds like you're doing a great job especially with swimming, and she has Steve to keep her entertained too!
Does anyone use reins any more?