I was reading a Babble interview with Kristin Armstrong and laughed when she shared her strategy for handling her daughter’s meltdown at Target. During the full-on tantrum, complete with screaming and fist-pounding, Kristin realized everyone was looking at her and judging her, so she acted fast: she got on the floor, mimicked her daughter’s behavior and made a total ass of herself.
But it worked. Meltdown: over and out.
I, too, have used this very effective strategy, to combat whining. When my kids were preschoolers and they would whine the typical, “But mooooooooooooooom!” or “But I want yoouuuuuuuuuu to dooooooooo it!”—I would whine right back at them: “Nooooooooo, I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan’t!” They would immediately hear how ridiculous I (and they) sounded and the whining session was over.
I love how Kristin mentioned that as her daughter was mid-tizzy, people were walking by, “thinking what an awful mom” she was. Really? I put myself in the spectators’ shoes. When I see a kid melting down in public, I really don’t think to myself, what a shitty mom. I usually think, Poor mom, she probably wants to throttle her kid.
When your kids throw a hissy fit in public, do you assume the people walking by are judging your parenting skills? Or do you think, like me, that maybe they’re just feeling kinda bad for you? Wouldn’t it be great if fellow moms would stop and say, “Hey, been there/done that and I’m sure you’ve survived plenty of these stupid tantrums. At least your day can only get better from here.”
Maybe we need a buddy system when our kids melt? Kind of like at Trader Joe’s the other day, when I was bagging my groceries and some “crew member” rang a bell and suddenly every cashier shouted, “All hands on deck!” After accidentally cracking my eggs from the uproar, I asked the cashier what in tarnation that was all about, and she grinned that it was just a silly ritual they were trying out to keep the staff together and motivated.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe we need an “all hands on deck!” kind of battle cry to keep us moms bonded together when our kids are screaming bloody murder along the shiny faux linoleum aisles of our favorite stores. Something that translates to “Stop your stupid fit, because Mommy knows it’s all bullshit!”
Ok, maybe a more G-rated approach is appropriate. Like, “Stick a sock in it, ‘cause Mom’s rockin’ it!” And then, like Kristin did, we all throw ourselves on the floor and join in on the tantrum.
Unless we’re wearing a nice outfit that involves a fabric other than denim.
What do you think? Got a good idea for a mommy battle cry?
Tantrums of the World, Unite!
I was reading a Babble interview with Kristin Armstrong and laughed when she shared her strategy for handling her daughter’s meltdown at Target. During the full-on tantrum, complete with screaming and fist-pounding, Kristin realized everyone was looking at her and judging her, so she acted fast: she got on the floor, mimicked her daughter’s behavior and made a total ass of herself.
I, too, have used this very effective strategy, to combat whining. When my kids were preschoolers and they would whine the typical, “But mooooooooooooooom!” or “But I want yoouuuuuuuuuu to dooooooooo it!”—I would whine right back at them: “Nooooooooo, I caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan’t!” They would immediately hear how ridiculous I (and they) sounded and the whining session was over.
I love how Kristin mentioned that as her daughter was mid-tizzy, people were walking by, “thinking what an awful mom” she was. Really? I put myself in the spectators’ shoes. When I see a kid melting down in public, I really don’t think to myself, what a shitty mom. I usually think, Poor mom, she probably wants to throttle her kid.
When your kids throw a hissy fit in public, do you assume the people walking by are judging your parenting skills? Or do you think, like me, that maybe they’re just feeling kinda bad for you? Wouldn’t it be great if fellow moms would stop and say, “Hey, been there/done that and I’m sure you’ve survived plenty of these stupid tantrums. At least your day can only get better from here.”
Maybe we need a buddy system when our kids melt? Kind of like at Trader Joe’s the other day, when I was bagging my groceries and some “crew member” rang a bell and suddenly every cashier shouted, “All hands on deck!” After accidentally cracking my eggs from the uproar, I asked the cashier what in tarnation that was all about, and she grinned that it was just a silly ritual they were trying out to keep the staff together and motivated.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe we need an “all hands on deck!” kind of battle cry to keep us moms bonded together when our kids are screaming bloody murder along the shiny faux linoleum aisles of our favorite stores. Something that translates to “Stop your stupid fit, because Mommy knows it’s all bullshit!”
Ok, maybe a more G-rated approach is appropriate. Like, “Stick a sock in it, ‘cause Mom’s rockin’ it!” And then, like Kristin did, we all throw ourselves on the floor and join in on the tantrum.
Unless we’re wearing a nice outfit that involves a fabric other than denim.
What do you think? Got a good idea for a mommy battle cry?