Tantrums, fits, toddlers, motherhood
Parenting,  Thoughts

Why Your Child’s Public Tantrum Is Good For All Of Us

I know– it can be so embarrassing when your child inevitably throws a tantrum, especially when it is out in public. People will look at you and stare, pausing to watch the drama unfold. But guess what? Your child’s wicked tantrum is good for all of us. It reminds us all that nobody is raising robots; we will all have public tantrums. And we will all survive them.

Being a mother can feel lonely. It can be isolating. And if you don’t have a solid group of mommy friends who you can text at 10 pm when you’re Googling “symptoms of a child sociopath,” you may not get the confirmation that you are normal. That your child, and his tantrums, are normal.

But pay attention the next time your kid is flailing like a zombie fish on the floor of Trader Joe’s– in the sea of what feels like judgment, you will find at least one other mother who has a face filled with compassion. Some may see you as exasperated, holding bananas in one hand and a baby in the other, but another mother will see herself– she will see a hardworking, exhausted mama who is just trying to pile groceries in her cart before her toddler realizes that the cart is a cage and he wants to be set free.

She knows you– because she is you.

Every child has their own unique set of quirks, whether it is banging their forehead in rage on a concrete floor or putting themselves to sleep when the pain from a skinned-knee gets to be too much. They all act out when we are hanging by a thread in the local supermarket, just trying to buy some ingredients for a healthy freakin’ dinner.

Remember– when I see your two-year-old with one shoe on, pulling bags of chips from the shelf in a blind rage– it is good for me. It reminds me that I’m not the only one. Tell yourself that your suffering is a reminder to mothers everywhere that we are all raising a bunch of peanut butter-faced, emotional, hooligans.

And cut yourself a break. You’re doing great, mama.

 

3 Comments

  • Bloggoneit

    What great advice!! I’m so glad I helped other mothers *so much*!! Now I know just how much good I did for the world by having my oldest daughter being walked out of the UTC mall in her father’s arms as she screamed and kicked, and pulled his hair, cried louder than any adult I knew, her body so full of rage. We left a path wide and deep full of parents who will never ever feel alone!

  • Jenn

    I never thought of things that way! Then again, I always try to be sympathetic when it happens to others. Yet, when it comes to my son, I’d feel bad!