I admit, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I became a mother. It is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, BUT never has my patience ever been tested since becoming a mother. I had no idea what it would actually be like.  I’ve seen children screaming in the store, I’ve seen children with dirty clothing on, and I’ve seen children pull tantrums left and right, but this time, it is not a strangers child, but my very own child. I never thought this would happen to me: my own child is screaming and pulling a tantrum in the store.  So many times I have seen this with other parents, so many times I judged and wondered why they weren’t doing anything about it?! I have realized that a lot of times, there is only so much you can do. I have put a list together of moments that I judged when I shouldn’t have, and unless you have kids of your own, you shouldn’t either.

1.  “When I have a kid, I will never let that happen to me”: I cannot tell you how many times I said this to myself pre-baby. Just don’t say it. It should be more in the lines of, “When I have a child, I need to see how I will deal with this situation when it happens.” I can guarantee, whatever situation you are witnessing, you are most likely to go through the same thing.

2. Giving the dirty look as a strangers child is on the floor with a tantrum: To all parents out there, I salute you. We just went through this, this past weekend: We went to IKEA’s grand opening weekend.  We were super excited because we love IKEA and guess what? It was a horrible trip. Julianna was annoyed. She was crying hysterically at one point. My husband and I realized, sometimes we have to pick our battles. Sometimes you have to leave a store and let them cool down outside, sometimes you have to let the tantrum pass, sometimes you just have to take deep breaths and tackle it straight on.

3. “Can’t they just sit their kids on the cart so they will stop running.”- This was something that would upset me. But now I see, I try and try….it ain’t going to happen. Julianna refuses half the time to stay put in the cart. She wants to run wild, be her own little independent self. I try to accept this, and walk with her and try to make it fun. I want to go crazy at times, but it’s the process of having a growing toddler.

4. “How dare two adults go outside their home with their child so they can eat at a restaurant!” I understand, many times, people don’t want to sit close to the family with toddlers. But we as parents, deserve to go out whether it be with our little ones or not.

5. Have some compassion!!  You are probably judging a mother who has had no sleep, no rest, no alone time. To all those mamas out there, I salute you. Keep doing the amazing job that you are doing. No mom is perfect, but we do try to be perfect in our own perfect self.

XO, Jan

Hello! I am Janet. I love connecting with people through all things creative. I hope to hear from you. xo