Toddlers are some of the most passionate beings you will ever meet. They have HUGE toddler emotions and opinions. They’re not afraid to share them with you either.
I love that my daughter has her own opinions and that she’s not afraid to stand up for what she wants, BUT man is it exhausting for the both of us!
Like the time she cried for 45 minutes because her bubblegum flavored toothpaste (which she had been using for weeks) tasted “too spicy.” She frantically ran around foaming at the mouth like some kind of crazed animal as I tried to get her to rinse her mouth out with water. Meanwhile, my one-year-old decided that the world must be ending. So he started running around after her crying hysterically.
In the moments after I realized that she was not in fact injured, I took a deep breath, asked Jesus to give me strength, and used every ounce of patience I had to try to remedy the situation. As I’m sure most of you can guess, absolutely nothing helped and she calmed down when she was good and ready. She literally went from screaming hysterically to very calmly telling me, “Mommy, this toothpaste is too spicy. I need to throw it out and get a new one.” Dear God……
I find myself constantly fighting a battle to keep my calm, acknowledge these big feelings and their importance, not lose my mind, and not laugh. Honestly, the hardest part is not being the instant fix anymore. When my daughter was younger, it just took some love and a cuddle to make her smile and feel better.
Now Mommy can only sit back and be there when she decides she needs me. IT’S SO HARD. Truthfully there are some days that I am better at all this than others. I don’t for a second claim to be super patient about these things all the time.
So to my fellow mommies struggling with the big toddler emotions, hang in there.
Take that deep breath, let the emotions run their course, and then when it’s all said and done, have a little chuckle, call a fellow mom and vent. Find the humor in life, share the craziness with the rest of us, and let’s all laugh because we know our kids do the same thing.
We’ve all seen the posts on social media about someone’s toddler crying because they can’t eat a tampon, or they have to wear a shirt because it’s snowing outside. Every time I chuckle at one of these posts, or share my own, I always feel slightly guilty. I don’t want people to think I am mocking my child for having big feelings about the little stuff. I think it’s a beautiful thing to behold and that it’s important to be passionate. However, I also feel that a good chuckle after the fact helps keep me sane. I think we need to find the lighter side, if not the humor in life, and not be afraid to laugh at ourselves sometimes too.
These big emotions from our children can be so overwhelming and frustrating to us as parents. I thought that as a symbol of solidarity (and for a little chuckle), I would ask our contributors to share some of their children’s finest. Let’s hear yours in the comments!
Reasons my child is crying:
“Because I ate the piece of popcorn he gave me and TOLD me to eat.”
“Because he only wants to wear one shirt every single day and refuses to take it off to sleep or bathe,”
“Because he didn’t want to wait for the pizza to bake bef
ore eating it.”
“Because he wants to finish his donut that he just finished.”
“Because she has a wedgie.”
“Because his Lego character fell between the seats in the car and I refused to stop on the freeway to search for it.”
“Because the baby was screaming for 20 minutes on a road trip and told me to just let her drive, and I said no.”
“Because the tag on her shirt is itchy.”
“Because she’s cold and refuses to wear a jacket.”
“Because her socks are crooked.”
“Because he can’t decide on what pair of shoes to wear or if he wants to wear socks.”
“Because I put him in the car with no shoes on after he refused to put them on.”
“Because her bunny is so cute.”
“Because I made him take a shower.”
“Because the different components of her dinner touched.”
“She asked if she could use the tablet if she took a nap. I told her yes, now go take a nap.”
“Because she wasn’t big enough to carry the gallon of milk to the kitchen.”
“Because I told them that sword fighting with their penises is not appropriate.”
“Because I won’t let her have my pink razor. (She’s 3)”
“Because she misses the moldy carrots that I threw out.”
“Because I wouldn’t let him eat his poop.”
