Yesterday was not a banner day here at at the Home Sweets. LG was her usual delightful self until she…wasn’t…and like I told my mom this morning, I don’t know a day is shitty until it all of a sudden turns shitty and I find myself screaming at my kid for screaming at me.
Are we not supposed to admit that we scream at our almost-two-year-olds? Oops. I didn’t get the memo. I screamed at my almost-two-year-old and, unsurprisingly, it did not make me feel better. At all. And I don’t imagine it made her feel much better, either.
I felt really awful about that — still do — because no one deserves to be screamed at, especially not this sweet little lady, who as soon as she is done screaming, is giggling as she lays on me and hugs my back as I clean up the shitton of matzoh on the floor.
(I’d say she’s not a fan of the matzoh.)
I was chatting with my friend about all this this morning and she sent me a link to this article. I don’t usually read stuff like this, for no other reason than it’s not really on my radar, but boy did I need to read this today. My favorite part(s):
“What is it with toddlers and losing their minds all the time? Is it normal that my son wails if his shirt sleeve isn’t all the way down, loves the bathtub one day but hates it the next, and manically screams “MINE!” two seconds after handing our dog a ball?”
…
“If your universe were amazing and terrifying and frustrating and unpredictable, and you didn’t have good communication skills or a whole lot of experience or much of a frontal lobe, you’d freak out every once in a while, too.”
THE SLEEVES. YES.
Anyway, I’m passing this on because maybe you need to read this today, too. Meanwhile, thank god it’s Friday.
Love you. You’re a great Ma. No beat up allowed. The people who claim to have perfect days all the time… lie.
You will probably scream at her again. And Sarah, while I agree, not much benefit in screaming at your not quite two year old, it’s ok to establish boundaries too. And… I for one think it’s pretty funny when I see a grown person trying to reason with a two year old. Not that I thinking screaming works either at that age but hey, you’re human.
Find a Mommy and Me class or something. Then she can scream at other two year olds and you can laugh with all the other Mom’s at how funny they are when they scream.
Queen Caren just nailed it. A few more months and a little more language will make a huge difference in behavior. In the meantime, remember my mantra; this too shall pass.