There has been a lot of yelling in my house lately – more than I care to admit. Don’t hit your sister, stop whining, please listen to me, you need to eat – I could go on and on. It seems like yelling is the only thing that gets my toddler’s attention and it’s driving me crazy.
Every night my husband and I strategize on what the issue is and how to fix it, although we really know it’s just this season of life. A long summer vacation being spoiled by grandparents and taking an extended break from daycare/school didn’t help, either. Plus our baby is now an overly curious one-year-old trying to keep up with her brother and offering extra competition for our attention.
While I know part of this is just life with a toddler, I found myself getting frustrated – at times not liking my child, or really, his behavior. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my children and love them with all my heart, but seriously some days…
And then my guy got sick.
Nothing major, but he woke up from his nap with a fever. “Mama I’m sick, will you take care of me.” My heart melted and all of my frustrations went away.
We snuggled on the couch that afternoon and much of the next day. It was just the two of us. We watched videos, played with play dough and made up stories. I was loving every second of our time together, no yelling just laughter. I was reminded by how sweet, smart and funny my little guy is – qualities that sometimes get lost when he’s constantly pushing my buttons.
Then it hit me: I couldn’t remember the last time we spent that much quality, one-on-one time together. Sure we have moments while his sister naps, but that’s often when I’m trying to get a load of laundry folded or dinner started. It’s usually the only chance I have to be ‘productive’, because otherwise his sister is getting into everything. But when he was sick, nothing else mattered. I could ignore the laundry, forget about my work email and we could eat PB&J sandwiches for dinner because my guy needed me.
While that’s not realistic all day everyday, our sick day taught me that I need to make more of an effort to stay truly connected to my toddler. I recognize that my actions may be contributing to his behavior and we need to spend more focused one on one time together. I know this won’t solve all of my toddler problems, but hopefully it will lead to less yelling and a lot more laughter.
We shouldn’t need a sick day for that.
