The JOYS (?!?) of Parenting. :)

Being a parent to a toddler can be really alienating...especially when your littlest picky is two and likes to scream more than talk.  We can be in a restaurant, a store, at school or at a friend's house and he will start screaming.  He may be mad, he may be happy, he may feel hungry or tired.  Who knows?  He's verbal but not enough to communicate every want and need.  And yes, I am aware that he probably should be talking more because I do have two more at home. 

However...
I have tried everything.  You don't need to stare at me or shake your head.  You can stop thinking "my child won't be like that" or "I never had a screamer and I don't understand".  You know what?  Your kid will do *something* my kid won't do and I won't try to make you feel bad.  I will remind you that I have had three children and that although we parent our three children the same way, they all turn out differently.  If only there was a right answer or a wrong answer.  Saying these things, thinking these things and showing your aggravation doesn't help.  I cannot sit in a house all day because I have a screamer. 

What you don't see is that when he does talk, he uses very nice manners. 

Or that he loves his siblings with such ferocious love, it is impossible not to smile. 

Or that he walks around kissing everybody or everything.

I wish older people would remember what it is like to have small children...I know it is easy to forget.  I wish people would remember that these are CHILDREN and not mini-adults.  We expect them to sit quietly and still but then get upset when they don't speak with manners or do their homework.  We can be very confusing, us adults.

So next time you see a parent at the grocery store with a screaming child, smile.  That screaming child could be your doctor one day or a future politician.  I'm not asking you to feel sorry for me, I

am asking for you to treat me with kindness and compassion. 

Yes, I can hear my child screaming

 and NO, I am NOT happy about it.

Sally Poster available here on Amazon. :)