Icky Sticky Bubble Gum

Breath two:

“Icky Sticky Bubble Gum,” a well-known children’s song, sung by my children as a rite of passage through the preschool years, came to life today in the wee hours of the morning.  Really, it’s a miracle it hasn’t happened to Jane prior to this.  Jane tiptoed in our room and whispered in my ear, “Mom, there is gum on my blanket and pajamas!”  I mumble something about going back to bed and dealing with it in the morning.  But when one is up, the others get up.  So, there they were each of my children awake in their beds whispering and watching the minutes pass until 6:00am.  We long ago deemed six o’clock a reasonable time to awaken.  I desperately tried to sneak in a few more minutes of shut-eye.  Six o’clock rolled around way too quickly; we got up and thankfully, we did not have to get gum out of Jane’s curly locks.  Her blanket and pj’s had to wait until we after the children were off at school. 

My children love gum.  They ask to chew it constantly.  Frederick started chewing gum when he was two years old.  He has swallowed his fair share of gum.  He is now interested in refreshing his gum frequently.  I NEVER would have given Lee or Jane gum at the age of two, they had to wait.  I guess with the third child everything goes out the window!  I’ll just call it, parents’ survival instinct.  My mother used to say, “Let the food fill your mouth” at the table when my sister and I were fussing. I suspect she was also looking for a few moments of silence.  We talked a lot!  I now relate to this feeling.  I hope for the same effect with gum chewing.  

While I don’t chew gum that often, I did as a child.  I remember sitting in the living room and learning how to blow bubbles. I like gum.  You can buy sugarless gum in any kind of flavor; it’s a nice alternative to the candies and sweets that children crave.  I also like it because my children tend to be rather oral. Additionally, gum has been shown to help children focus and concentrate.  For three years I have advocated for Lee’s teachers to let him chew gum.  Gum chewing would increase his focus and simply be a way he could move his busy body in classroom congested with children.  Now in his third grade year he finally gets to chew gum.  Lee is ecstatic and keeps a pack of gum in his backpack.    I know he is not the only mover and shaker in his classroom, and it is great that his teacher encourages children to chew gum if they need it.    

People have terrible gum habits.  They smack, pop loud bubbles, crack their gum, chomp like a cow, and even throw gum on the ground.  I have occasionally found gum on the floor at home and definitely found wrappers that missed the trash can.  Whenever this occurs we take breaks from gum chewing.  It is called natural consequences. My children are gum-savers; they put it on the sides of their plates and save it for after dinner.  Do you recall the little girl from the movie, Miracle on 34^th Street?  She chewed her gum and saved it for the next day.  Gross.  Lee has been known to forget to throw away his gum, and chew it in his sleep.  I have actually seen him “sleep chew,” an amazing dedication to gum chewing.  But, I still say the benefits outweigh the negatives.  Gum assists in promoting household peace; it helps hold our focus, and keeps our breaths fresh.   

Next time you are in an uncomfortable conversation, a rude confrontation, or about to say something terribly mean, pop in a piece of gum, blow a quick bubble and walk away enjoying the fresh breath.