 |
| Photo by Snow Pea Portraits |
Living with a toddler is what I imagine living with someone with bipolar disease is like. There are such high highs, and such low lows. And all can happen within seconds. One second I am pulling out my hair because E is doing one of the numerous frustrating things that toddlers do and the next I am smiling tears because he has come up and given my belly a hug and kiss. This new stage has been difficult to deal with for sure. The toddler tantrums, the throwing of things, the hitting, the biting...I know it's all part of E learning and testing his boundaries, but some days I wonder what I got myself into. And yes. It is completely frustrating. I have found myself reaching deep into my toolbox of things I used in my classroom and finding that some days, nothing works. It sure doesn't help that E is not really talking yet. Truthfully, I think that a lot of his "bad behaviour" is due to his inability to communicate effectively verbally yet. I am holding onto hope that when he does start talking that these outbursts will die down. But until then, I just have to deal with it. And really, it isn't "bad behaviour." I don't want to call it that. To me, bad behaviour denotes acts that are done with the intention of doing wrong. Toddlers don't really know the difference between right and wrong yet. They are still learning.And that means that they will make mistakes. Sometimes a lot of them. It also takes time. Sometimes more time than you want.
Occasionally when we are out, E will have a toddler tantrum or do one of the other multiple frustrating things that toddlers do (this is more likely if I have neglected to bring enough snacks!). Some people will look at him and I can tell they wonder about my parenting skills. I just breathe when I see this and remind myself that they clearly have no idea. Either their child hasn't hit this stage yet, they only have one child, or they are (very) rare parents who were blessed with an "easy" toddler. They'll see. Eventually, they will see. Whether it be in the next little while when their child hits that same stage, or when their child is a teenager and hits a different stage. They'll see.
And like I said, it's not ALL bad. There is definitely more good in the day than bad. The smiles, the hugs, the kisses. The random things he is learning and surprising me with every day more than make up for the moments of frustration. Every day he does something that just makes my life. It brightens up my day and at that moment, time stands still. I cherish those moments. Those are the moments why I don't mind the frustrations. Those are the moments that years down the road, when he is all grown and has children of his own, that I will be remembering and thinking of when I remind him to "cherish the moments, it goes too fast."
Comments