Tantrums

My sister called me last week telling me about the terrible twos hitting her household early, with fits and "Mine!"'s tossed everywhere. She called me and told me about her latest trip to the store where my sweet little niece yelled "Mine!" every few feet down the aisles and then threw a fit as my sister didn't give in. She said "I know everyone in the store must have thought I was a bad mom" 

And it all came rushing back.....that feeling you get when your first child starts acting like this and in public no less! Completely mortified, where did my sweet cuddly baby go that laughed at everything, why can't she be here for strangers to oohh and aw at the cute cooing sounds and mispronunciations of "shoe's" and "yogurt"

Where is MY child? What happened overnight?

I can remember the first time Yuliya "threw a fit" she was a little over a year old and just had barely entered the realm of walking. She must have seen a friend at school do it....b/c while the effort was there she really didn't have a good grip on the act. (No worries, she was a pro by 3, and thankfully has now outgrown it.) But that day, , she wanted something...probably a toy, maybe something pink and she didn't get it. 

So she slowly teetered herself to the ground (obviously fearful of just throwing herself down) and sort of melted there and let out the teeniest of grunts. Chris and I looked at each other....is this a tantrum?

Wow...she sucks at this.

Little did we know she would develop that skill into the full blown tantrum, most effective when in public. This  stage almost no parent escapes right after the sweet cuddly baby stage.

I too remember thinking what Amy thought as I ignored the wailing emitting from my tiny tot in the booster seat next to me at a restaurant. Feeling like every person near me was glaring me down, thinking "just give the kid what she wants"!

Then I learned that patio seating is prime for children. 

But later I learned..no one really cares. 

Most parents that have been there totally get it. And those that aren't parents and do in fact think "What a horrible mom"....well who cares!

We are molding the next generation to eat their peas, clean their rooms and not be spoiled brats. This is very important business! We are responsible for making sure these wailing babies grow up to be thoughtful, giving, eloquent, responsible adults.  Sometimes that means saying no, and dealing with the consequences, because as a parent we have consequences too. And saying no is never easy.

Well...it does get easier....


but then...

you hit the "why?" phase