Today my husband and I, along with our two kids, drove 50 minutes to another town to check out their recently built splash park. It was great, the view was overlooking the river and it was just beautiful. We got there and played at the splash pad for awhile and then changed the kids back into their clothes so we could play at the playground. That was also fun. The kids were both pretty well enjoying themselves, until we had to leave. Huge melt down on both parts. They wanted to eat, but didn't want to eat. They wanted to play, but didn't want to play. They were frustrated, we were frustrated. My four year-old is going through a phase of testing limits and my two year-old is still trying to figure out how to explain her emotions (but, hey, I am 25 and I can't always do that)! Our day ended a little quicker than we had initially planned, but that's okay. And guess what? By the time we got back home, they had completely forgot about being upset.
It's hard to look beyond the present moment, when your children are angry and in tears (and yelling in public)! It's easy to think you are the worst parent in the world. It's easy to think you are doing everything wrong. It's easy to compare yourself to every other parent in the park as they handle their perfectly composed children all while remaining perfectly composed. It's easy to do all those things, but the truth is that you are not alone. Every child has their moments and every parents has to figure out how to calmly manage their child's feelings. Whether you witness the frustration, or not, it happens. It's part of it. This is part of the journey, of everyone's journey. You can push through those rough moments. Just don't forget; you're not alone.
Do you have any super-human parenting tricks on dealing with those tricky moments?
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