One of THOSE Days!

Ever have one of those days when everything that can go wrong does? I had one several weeks ago. I got out of bed to get a morning glass of orange juice only to find that I was out of juice. I then filled the glass with ice and added a small can of Dr Pepper. My cats were anxiously waiting for their breakfast and were weaving themselves in and out of my legs with my every step. As I got midway of my bedroom, they tripped me and I sloshed my soft drink onto the floor. To add insult to injury, I stubbed my toe in the process.

Being the older adult that I am, I tried to behave maturely, so I stood there with my toe hurting, drink dripping from my hand and growled like an angry bear…loud and long! Yeah, that’s really mature, but it certainly did help me relieve some frustration. The two cats headed for safety.

Adults can get very much stressed and we still commit some strange behaviors even though we have years of experience and a tool box full of ideas as to how to handle those times of great frustration. Isn’t it interesting, therefore, that we expect our youngsters to behave appropriately when they don’t get the blue bowl they wanted, or to flip the light switch off when leaving the room. They react to how they feel, but we tend to react to what they DO, whether it’s to hit, fall out in a temper tantrum, or knock that blue bowl filled with milk and cereal off the table.

My friend LR Knost says, “When our little people are overwhelmed by BIG emotions it’s our job to share our calm, not join their chaos.” Oh, my goodness, isn’t that so true?! After all, our feelings are our feelings and that’s okay. How we react to those feelings may not be so okay.

Consider how things may have been different had we gently shown that wee one the blue bowl in the sink to be washed and handed her a paper towel to help clean up the spill. Had there been another adult with me when I had my stressful morning, I feel certain I would have heard how sorry they were along with offers to help wipe up the spill. Later, information about how she may have handled letting you know how upset she was, or better ways to show her frustration would have been very helpful beginning to fill her tool box of ideas on what to do in those situations.

Jesus is our example, and the perfect one, of how to be kind. Recall how he told his disciples to allow the little children to come to Him even though he was exhausted. He didn’t expect them to think or act like adults. He accepted them as the inexperienced children they were…as His Father had created them.

Think about your behavior in times of stress and frustration. If your child’s reaction to being upset is beginning to mirror yours and you don’t like it, it may be time for you to reevaluate and change yours as needed. God bless you as you strive to parent gently.

©2016 Brenda Holland-Robinson