Patience is a virtue. My God, it is.
I read something the other day about ways to avoid temper tantrums before they begin (in your child, not yourself).
One of the suggestions was to not hurry your toddler. They’re busy exploring their world and how things work. Along comes Mommy, who needs to get the child dressed, the lunch packed, the car to the Montessori School, and her own self to the train for work.
It’s easy to become frustrated when we’re in a hurry. I guess the solution is trying to always plan extra time for everything in life. Ha, ha. Not so easy.
Yesterday, Genny was chatting on about princesses and lollipops and her friends at school, while I managed to get her to step into a pair of blue pants that she never wants to wear. Yes, I was aware that she was so wrapped up in talking that she hadn’t noticed what I was dressing her in, but I hoped that once the pants were on her that she wouldn’t mind. Not so.
We walked into the hallway when all of a sudden she looked down and freaked out.
“I don’t want to wear these pants!”
To save time and avoid the whining fit, I marched her right back into her room and said, “Then pick out the pants you DO want to wear.”
At least at this point she realized I meant business and she went right to her dresser and pulled out her stretchy aqua pants that are too small on her. Yes, I should remove the pants that are too small for her and box them up and label the box, etc.
Then we had the whole discussion about what snack she could eat in the car on the way to school, about what she could not bring to school with her, and about which foot each boot goes on. And I tried not to rush her as I shuffled her out the backdoor while carrying a pink princess lunch box, my black purse that weighs 20 pounds and my brown work bag slung on my shoulders while I simultaneously hissed at the cat and stamped my feet to prevent him from running outside where he could be hit by a car.
