Good morning from this impatient mama over here who has already lost it on her child this morning.

He jumps into our bed and sits on my hair and SOMETIMES I CAN’T EVEN HANDLE THE ENERGY.

There are mornings I LOVE IT when he climbs into bed with me and Riyu.

And then there are other mornings, like this one, where I’m just like, WHERE IS THE OFF BUTTON PLEASE?

And he’s not a ‘take him out and have him run laps ’til he’s tired’ kid. He’s a kid that gets more wound up when he’s endlessly running.

His body needs a different type of movement to calm down and feel tired.

He needs a lot of proprioceptive input. Like pushing and pulling heavy objects. Climbing. Lunges. Activities that provide that deep muscle work.

When I was teaching, I used to work with a really great OT (shout out to you, Larissa!) who talked about how we needed to create ‘sensory diets’ for some of our students. Because, similar to Ishu, they needed something more than just running around on the playground (or whatever it is we had that we called a ‘playground’).

Anyway, it’s ironic to me, really.

Because I have spent so many years trying to escape diet culture and have ‘food freedom’ so that I don’t push my own shit on my kids.

And then I have a kid who has no issues with food and needs a whole different kind of “diet.”

And I think about how, well, yeah, even when it comes to a “sensory diet,” there is a lot of pushback and escape from the ‘restrictions.’

Does this even make sense?

I’m just saying that when you’re dieting, you know that apples are probably a better choice than a Snickers bar. But a Snickers bar feels better in the moment.

Similarly, my kid – based on what we’ve talked about – knows that his body responds better to climbing and deep pressure shit. But running around and throwing his body around feels better in the moment. So there’s some rejection of this “sensory diet.”

A whole different diet culture.

But a similar resistance to it in favor of what feels good in the moment.

Anyway, he’s 4.

And I don’t expect him to be like, “Yeah, mom. I’ll stop spinning in circles so we can do a quick round of lunges.”

But it’s given me a lot to think about.

Because diets are not really sustainable.

But swinging the other way where you’re “anti-diet” also leads to some issues if you’re forgetting that the objective is overall health.

IS THIS A METAPHOR THAT MAKES SENSE TO YOU?

Well, it makes sense in my brain.

I don’t have the perfect solution. But it helps to view it with a similar lens. So that I’m not standing there with a whistle in hand, forcing lunges and crab-walks on my child.

This is why sports are great.

And that’s a nice little reminder that I’ve gotta get him signed up for the next round of tennis lessons.

I GOTTA GO.

Thanks for peeking into my brain this morning.