Parenting Coach

It's a sad day when your 3 year old gives you parenting advice. It's even more sad when you realize that she's right and you're wrong.

I've not been feeling well this week, and running after the kids hasn't exactly been the ideal treatment. So by dinnertime, I'm pretty much shot. At the end of the day, I feel like I've run a marathon because every muscle and joint in my body are aching. Patience is a foreign concept and, frankly, not something I'm willing to dole out at the moment.

As I was preparing dinner last night, Allison was especially fussy for some reason. I had already put food on her tray and filled her cup. So she's fed and watered...what more can the kid ask for, right?? So I continued to prepare dinner for the rest of us, only to hear *whine, whine, cry, whine, shriek, whine, cry, whine* in the background. So using my last ounce of compassion, I slightly raised my voice and said, "ALLIE!! NO MA'AM!"

I’ll admit, it was probably said in a tone that would make June Cleaver gasp in horror. But my nerves were shot and I didn't feel good and I certainly didn't have patience to listen to a whining baby (who is by the way cutting a tooth...which I immediately remembered as she gnawed furiously on a piece of toast...Bad Mommy Moment #107).

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, Lauryn looked up at me. She said, "Mommy? Why did you say 'Allie, No Ma'am' instead of saying, "Oh, Allie? What's wrong sweetie? Don't cry."

I just stared at her because I literally didn't know what to say. I quickly found my words and explained that Mommy wasn't feeling very good, but I still shouldn't have talked to Allison that way. "Yes", Lauryn said. "We need to teach her nice things." I told her she was right, and went on to apologize to Allison who just looked up at me smiling, with cheese stuck to her face.

So by the end of the evening, we had learned a valuable lesson and the family went on to eat the dinner that the crock-pot spent all day cooking. I, on the other hand, ended up eating Lauryn's humble pie. A big, heaping serving of it.