Pete the Cat’s Rule of Three

self improvementmom lifereadingkids booksGratitudeadventure

Feb 3

I must admit that we are now a tv family. I thought before I had kids that we would NEVER watch television. I just don’t watch tv throughout the day. I always felt unproductive if I spent my day watching a show instead of doing something else. I wasn’t like this when I was younger, I loved tv shows and Disney movies as a kid. Saturday morning cartoons or even reruns of “The Golden Girls” on Lifetime as a teen. (Yes, The Golden Girls and no I’m not 80—although maybe an 80-year-old soul trapped in a 34-year-old’s body HA). But I just assumed I would find one million other things for the kids and I to do besides watch tv. Which, don’t worry, we still find plenty to fill the day, but I’m not completely against the idea of watching a show together like I thought I would be. So, after we had our son, I read to him All. The. Time. That’s what we filled our days with. I was Pinterest-ing toddler activities for us to do and reading books! I was giving him every second of my attention and at times feeling like I was losing some of myself in the process. The love I felt for that tiny human was so overwhelming and I just wanted to be perfect. I wanted to be the perfect mom, perfect wife, perfect friend…but perfection isn’t attainable and who was I comparing myself too as the perfect gold standard anyways? Insert baby number two and a mind shift of what is fully capable as far as time management and one on one time with my toddler. I know not everyone agrees with tv time, but honestly it was in those snuggled up moments, watching a show together while holding my babies, that I got a moment to breathe and be grateful for the time. It gave me a chance to slow down and not worry about the next great toddler activity, carpet needing vacuumed, toys being put away or dinner getting made. TV watching hasn’t been a babysitter for me. It has been a time of rest; a time to slow down. I’m particular about the shows. I want them to have some sort of educational element to them. I’m not a fan of “bad guys” and I don’t love when a character shows bratty characteristics, but if they do – it does give a chance to talk about how that wasn’t kind etc. and then not watch the series again. I fill our days with activities, reading and baking together…but the moments of calm when we all sit close and watch something together can also be a place of connection and give me a little break. The great thing about the shows we watch together is that we usually read the book first. For example, Pete the Cat. Did you know that Pete the Cat is in cartoon version on Amazon Prime? We didn’t until recently, but my kids love Pete the Cat stories, so we gave it a shot. What came from one of the episodes can be applied to several things and I’m so glad we watched it together!

In the episode Grumpy Toad (one of Pete’s friends in case you are unfamiliar with the characters) only likes to eat flies and he won’t even try a banana—he just knows that he will hate them! Pete’s mom tells Grumpy Toad about giving everything the rule of three. Whether that is three bites, three tries of an activity etc. Give it the rule of three before you decide if you like something or not. Before he will try any new foods, he has Pete and Pete’s mom try different things three times, including Pete’s mom riding a skateboard. The episode ends with all the friends coming together and Grumpy Toad trying everyone’s favorite foods—taking three bites and then deciding if he likes it or not. He realizes even after trying a banana three times that he, in fact, doesn’t like them, but he finds lots of other foods that he does enjoy. I was sitting there watching the episode and thinking about how many things in life I haven’t given the rule of three! I’ve only tried skiing once and decided I did not enjoy it…maybe I should try two more times to really decide? I’ve only tried Indian cuisine twice and decided it wasn’t for me. Maybe that third try would change my opinion? I only took the ACT once because I got a good enough score to go to the college I was planning on, but what if I would have tried twice more? Could I have received a higher score and therefore more scholarship money? Or maybe we should use Pete’s logic for whether to try for baby number three. Two seems wonderful, but maybe three would be the perfect number? I’m kidding! I won’t use Pete the Cat to decide if our family should grow from four members to five. However, I will use his rule at dinner time with my kids! My almost four year old has been having trouble at dinner time with not wanting to sit and eat. He will make excuses saying he is too tired to eat, doesn’t like what I made or needs to check on a toy. Basically, anything to be excused from the table without taking a bite…and then of course asking for a snack later. Since we watched the cartoon together, I reminded him of Grumpy Toad and asked him how many bites he had to take before he decided not to like something. He replied, three and then reluctantly he took three bites. We’ve done this a few times now and he usually makes a face after the first bite (no matter if it is his favorite thing to eat or not) and then by bite three he will say “yum” or “I’m done”. Who knew feeding a toddler would be such a suspenseful adventure!

I think we could all take a little advice from Pete the Cat and apply the rule of three to our own lives. What experiences have we missed out on because we didn’t give it enough of a chance? What things were we scared we wouldn’t like? What were we worried we wouldn’t be good at or thought we wouldn’t enjoy? Don’t let the fear of the unknown or one bad experience take away from something that could be truly wonderful or exhilarating. I know that moving forward I am going to give new food three bites and new activities or experiences three chances. There can be no growth without getting a little uncomfortable and I want to continue to grow so a little discomfort it is! What activities or foods are you going to give another try to incorporate a little Pete the Cat into your life?

I personally want to give skiing another go, try rock climbing (in a rock-climbing gym—giving things a chance doesn’t take away my fear of heights) and what the heck—I’ll give Indian food one more shot. What are you going to try? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great weekend and as always, happy reading!