I've been a bad mami lately: stressed and angry, and I feel terribly guilty about it especially after watching this video below of an experiment from a team at the University of Washington that in my opinion shows that toddlers know way more than we give them credit for. I didn't really need the video to show me this because my 3-year-old already showed me, but it is a good reinforcement of the lesson my toddler is trying to teach me.
I'm going to tell you how I've been bad even though I'm ashamed because I know I'm not alone and I hope this reminds us all to keep our stress and anger in check in front of our children.
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My life is good, really it is, but I work full time and I have a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old. They are delightful and beautiful, but I would be a big fat liar if I didn't admit that at times they can grate on my nerves. It's not their fault, it's just that I'm human and have too many things to do.
Well, the other day my toddler said she needed help doing something that I know she can do on her own and it irritated me. I didn't say anything, I didn't yell at her, but something, perhaps a sigh or an eye roll gave my frustration away because, minutes later, I found her sitting on a stool crying big fat tears that were dripping onto her thighs. When I asked her what was the matter she just cried more. I managed to get it out of her that I had hurt her feelings. Instantly I felt like the impatient jerk that I had been and apologized.
Unfortunately the next day I went back to my irritable ways because she said something to me along the lines of "Mami, I love you so much, can you please stop being mad?" Ugh, my heart aches telling you this and I feel so embarrassed because my children are a treasure and I never want to make them feel like they are anything less.
From now on, I am going to do my best not to get irritated or show my irritation because the truth is that it's not my kids that irritate me it's that I have so many other things to do and I'm in a rush to finish them so that I can spend more time with my kids so it doesn't make sense to get grouchy with them. I'm learning.
Check out the video that prompted this confession. This little boy who is like not even 2 years old, can't even speak, reacts to a mean angry lady. It's really eye-opening and lets you really see that children are able to asses your emotions at an incredibly young age and it affects them.
Image via Thinkstock
