Having a Hard Time...Not Giving Me a Hard Time.

 

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If I were to tell you the overwhelming amount of times that I have received unsolicited parenting advice from strangers, we would be here all night long. It's true what they say. "If you have nothing nice to say...don't say anything at all." Sometimes these comments are well meaning, but they come out the wrong way. It is never a mother's intention to parade her cranky children around to run errands. Trust me when I say it is not.  We just have to do what we have to do. 

I didn't understand this until becoming a mother myself. I have written before (possibly) about how before I was a mom I used to say how that would never be me. In reference to the moms dealing with the toddler screaming at the grocery store because mom said no to candy or whatever the reason may be. I said my children would know better. Haha who was I kidding!? 

I have on more than one occasion been the mom whose child acted out in public. Had a tantrum or meltdown in the middle of grocery shopping. Your face turns red. People stare which makes it all worse. Anxiety creeps in and all you want to do is dart out of that door, but everything seems to be taking longer. If you're anything like me you fight the tears and the urge to give into to your child. Not because we don't discipline, but because it's all just too much. 

Our children don't necessiraly understand the concept of time. Their innocent little world falls apart when you tell them no. More times than none they don't mean to give you a hard time...they are just having a hard time. Because I like to relate my posts to real life I will tell you about times when I have been the mom with the screaming child. 

My sons are on a regular basis very well behaved. If they act out something is up. Tired and hungry are the biggest triggers.  This past Friday we went to buy some groceries and my son Mason was exhausted (he likes to wake up at the crack of dawn and not nap). In the middle of our shopping trip he started whining. No big deal most kids whine, but then he got louder and louder. He wasn't purposely wanting to give me a hard time . He was just done. 

While I do believe children push buttons to test boundaries as parents we know when our children do things on purpose. My son Logan being special needs (as most of you know) has a very hard time in loud crowded places, so he has meltdowns often. They happen in places like the grocery store a lot. He goes from happy to screaming within minutes sometimes seconds. I can't help to have to go grocery shopping, and I hate doing that to him. Others just need to grasp the concept that children at not robots. They are not to be bullied. They have feelings, and just like you and I have bad days... They do too. 

How do you handle your children's behavior?