Tough Times

You are not alone. Your child is not the only one that is making your life hard. There are millions of parents right now that are dealing with a tantrum or whining or crying of a child. Parents all over the world are united in one thing right now - dealing with tough times. Your child is going to make life hard for you at many times throughout the day. You survive one incident only to make it to the next one.

Kids are going to throw tantrums over some of the most ridiculous things. It’s generally things that neither you or they can actually control, and you’re just going to be standing there wondering how you can actually calm your child down. You know what I mean - they’re throwing a tantrum over their bottom chasing them and they can’t stop it. What are you going to do about that to calm them down?

You know what else is frustrating? When your child is asking for something that you have no idea what it is they’re talking about. And they keep asking for it until they get into such a state that they’re screaming and whining because they can’t have it. You’re sitting there trying to understand what they want, they’re screaming for it, and you simply have no way to actually calm them down.

You’re not stuck in the nightmare alone. Keep trying to tell yourself that. Remind yourself that this will pass and that it will get better. Once kids are older, they’ll still make you mad and upset, but they’re not going to be doing it in a way that you can’t understand what they want or are asking for. Sure, they may still frustrate you, but at least you’ll understand what it is they’re asking of you.

The other day our youngest son decided that he wanted it to snow outside, and he threw a huge tantrum over there being no snow coming down and no snow on the ground. We did what we could to console him, we created fake snow inside, we got the ice out to let him feel the cold. It didn’t matter though because he wanted there to be snow outside. There was simply no way to console him.

No, they can’t throw their toys in the toilet. No, you can’t stop their eyes from looking at things. No, they can’t go for a ride in the dryer. There are so many silly and ridiculous things that your child may ask for that you simply can’t give to them or let them have, and they’re often too young or too stubborn to understand where you’re coming from. You’ll get through it eventually - hang in there.

Your child can also make life awesome as well. They may give you a hug for absolutely no reason. They can tell you they love you. They can learn something new that you weren’t expecting. Yes, life may be hard a lot of the time, but then your child will simply light up your day by doing something totally unexpected. These are the best moments of parenting, and the ones that you want to hold onto forever.

There will be tough times as a parent. You’re not alone and it will pass. Hold on to the happy moments of parenting, and enjoy the ride as much as you can.