Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Potty Training
J~Some days you wonder if you are going to come out alive. This day started with potty training BJ, not being aware of his strange dream last night about his yellow fish which, by the way, does not exist. Apparently, his fish lived in the potty. When I flushed the toilet before he used it, he started screaming about me flushing his yellow fish down the toilet. This was just the beginning. He continued to cry about the fish being flushed the entire time he was on the toilet. When I told him that he didn’t have a fish, he started saying that it was his yellow cup. Finally, everything settled down. That’s parenthood for you. Parenthood is like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs. And though it may be stressful right now, these are the memories that you will treasure as they get older.
R~Some days you feel like a bad mom. Like, if you could figure out how to NOT feel frustrated your kids might NOT have meltdowns over eating their lunch; or she might NOT keep having accidents in the floor in front of the potty. It feels like the days that you wake up feeling like you have it all together (for once) and have determined that you are not going to get rattled, those are the days that it all falls apart. Tantrums and meltdowns are a part of motherhood, though, I’m sure, it doesn’t help when mom is the one having the meltdown. Rebekah (19 months), crying over not being allowed to drink her pop, (seltzer water) because I want her to take a bite of her hot dog (really because she was woke up to soon). Then started the tantrum, she threw her bowl off the table and stomped her feet all the while screaming at the top of her lungs. At the same time, Parker (3 y.o.) who is potty training, calls me from the bathroom, “Momma, I peed in the floor.” I lost it. I totally lost it. Not because she had an accident but the stress of all day had gotten to me and I lost it. Every time that I get upset, I determine to be a better mom. To be an understanding mom. Every mom has those days, the days when the stress and tiredness of motherhood gets to us. Those are the times that you admit to your children, that you were wrong for losing it. Then, you hug your kids, tell them how much you love them, and start again.
No matter if you wonder if you are going to come out alive or if you are feeling like a horrible mom, all we can do through each day is pray for wisdom to be the mom that they need you to be. To tell stories, give hugs and kisses, and love them into adulthood.
The Sisters