Kids in Public

I was just reading Rachel's blog and it started me thinking about how I feel when I take Madison out somewhere. She's really busy and certainly not the easiest child to control when we go out. Kellen was much simpler, really. Madison, however, is a one-man demolition team on stores, offices, and homes. There are a couple of possible reactionary emotions for me. The first is usually some measure of embarassment that my child is causing a disturbance (Kellen's piano recital was a good example of this) and that can be followed one of two others, depending on reactions from those around me. Either I am reassured by people who realize what it's like to have a small child with boundless energy who smile and tell me that it's okay; it gets better; they had a child just like that; etc. But then there are those who are annoyed by your child and you get 'looks' from them that speak far louder than words about what kind of parent they think you are. I don't get these often, because Madison usually just charms people regardless of what she is doing.

Right before Christmas I had to make a quick run to the grocery store and I took Madison with me. It had been raining, so all the carts were wet. I decided to just let her walk and I would carry a basket; if she decides to cooperate this works really well, but only for a very short time. Apparently she didn't feel like cooperating that day. I was constantly having to retrieve her from some aisle because she didn't want to follow; there were far more interesting things to look at. At one point, I had had to walk down an aisle to get her and as I was walking back to where I'd set down my basket I went past an young couple (early 20's, no kids) and I heard the guy mutter, "If that was my kid..." Man, I just wanted to deck him! It's not bad enough that I already know that my child is not behaving, but then to have HIM think he could do a better job. I wanted to tell him to call me in a few years when HE had a toddler on his hands and had to get him/her to do what he wanted. The truth is that until someone has actually dealt with a 2-3 year old (a short person with a mind of her own, wanting to explore everything, and lacking in experience of what will/won't hurt them) they really shouldn't stand in judgement on those of us scrambling after aforementioned 2-3 year olds.

Okay, I'm done venting. This is one of the reasons that I really like the toddler story time at the library; everyone there has children of about the same age and we are all dealing with much the same problems in handling them. It can be so important to have people who don't judge what you're doing (or your child is doing) because they are in the same spot. The real test will be to remember all of this when I am a grouchy old lady !)