The first time in my near-six year spell as a parent I finally had the fabled 'supermarket meltdown'.
Not for transparency sake I'll admit, the meltdown began the Moment we left the house and I had the nerve, the gaul to...hold my two year olds hand whilst walking to the shops.
30 minutes later and, well we get to the shops. I've been kicked, hit and screamed at for the entire walk because my unruly toddler didn't want to hold my hand...but also didn't want to be carried.
And then it happened. Lemons. We didn't need lemons. He didn't truly even want them. But alas, he decided this was his hill to die on, and oh boy.
Told him no. Offered him my hand. Nothing. He wouldn't budge from the lemons. My eldest is off doing her own thing with grandad, but even they heard what was to come: the scream. So much screaming.
I scooped him up whilst trying to hold a jar of Bolagnese sauce and a packet of Garlic and Herb New Potatoes and quickly made my way to the middle of the store. As my toddler screams with the intensity of a thousand angry sun-gods I hand him the goods and make my way outside, away from judging eyes. My son then proceeds to scream for a further five minutes before ultimately, giving in and accepting defeat.
So yeah. That was my Sunday afternoon. I handled it fine but bloody hell it took the shine of what should have been a nice little walk.
How have your kids pissed you off recently??
It was earlier this week. The weather was awful with very cold wind and rain, and my wife, jokingly, said before I took my children to school “today I think I'll stay at home”.
A 3 yo child doesn't know yet what a joke is. However, a 3 yo child knows what wind, rain and cold are. So my 3 yo wanted to stay at home too, and didn't understand why I wouldn't let her. Even after my wife explained that she wasn't actually staying at home, even after she left home, my daughter entered one of these terrible meltdowns which are her secret weapon. She screamed, cried, I had to force her to wear her coat, to attach her to her pushchair, and she refused to wear her hood, to take an umbrella or to let me put the pushchair protection. Thus very quickly she was drenched, and so was I; and we (she, her older sister and me) were going to be late. I was tired, angry, hungry, shameful, soaked and afraid, so I lost it. I like to think of myself as a patient dad, I try to understand my children but then, during the 10 minutes of walking between home and school, I was a horrible parent, saying, no, angrily screaming things I shouldn't have (like: “I will laugh when you'll be sick”), reprimanding her innocent older sister because she didn't walk quickly enough (she can't walk as quickly as me!), being everything but understanding.
So much that she was afraid when I took her back that evening. We spoke a little and I said I was sorry (she said she was too), but I still feel very guilty. She is not an easy child, but that's not an excuse.