If you are a parent, there’s no doubt you’ve been in public desperately trying to keep your kids busy so they don’t show out. I know I’ve been in that situation so many times I’ve lost count. It can be really embarrassing, but goodness knows the general public apparently hates loud kids, and the stares you get can be detrimental to your confidence as a mother.
Loud Kids in a Waiting Room
Recently I found myself in a crowded waiting room with only one empty seat. I was waiting for a routine prenatal check. Several women had babies with them, but one mom in particular had a 4 year old girl and a 1 year old boy. Her children had not yet mastered the art of whispering and were quite vocal in the dialogue with their mom. The older sibling was drawing with some crayons and paper her mother had brought for her, while the little boy ate a snack.
As time went on she blew bubbles for them to keep their boredom at bay. Her only request was that they stay close to her proximity. I was surprised that she never once shushed them or asked them to lower their voices. While the children were behaved, it was clear that the noise brought on by them had gained the attention of everyone else in the waiting room. I noticed a few women locking eyes with each other and smirking in annoyance over the children’s noise level; a few sighing in aggravation.
I hope that mom didn’t notice because being a mother can feel so lonely and unsupported at times. She probably did notice, but she never let it get to her. She clearly never wavered from her goals and intentions for her children.
So, to the mom with the loud kids in the waiting room… Thank you.
Thank you for giving your attention to your children. Thank you for interacting with them and allowing them to interact with each other. Thank you for meeting their age appropriate needs and not giving two flocks of seagulls what others think. Thank you for not shoving devices in their faces while having your own shoved in yours. You rock!
Being a mom is tough, it kicks my a$$ daily, but this mom set a clear example of the type of mom I’d like to be. So often I stress myself out trying to make the people around me happy instead of trying to make my children happy. There’s a balance for sure, but this mom was handling it like a boss.
It Happens to the Best of Us
If you take kids in public, things will get interesting. I’m personally thinking back to when my son put the death grip on a buggy he didn’t want to get out of in a grocery store parking lot, and once I literally pried him from his seat, he yanked the neck of my dress down exposing God knows how much of my boobs. Well God and the guy sitting in his truck next to my car. I was certain bystanders were dialing 911 to report a kidnapping and/or indecent exposure case. All the poor child wanted was to ride in the buggy a little while longer.
I try hard to keep my kids out of places where they might show out. Some situations are inevitable, childcare could be an issue, or perhaps the child has a doctor appointment of their own. I purchased a few quiet toys, like this one, to keep in my car for days like these where I need to keep them busy. It is not age appropriate to expect my child to sit quietly. I’m not going to hand over my phone so that everyone in earshot gets Baby Shark stuck in their head for the remainder of the day.
Sometimes motherhood in public can be so stressful that it starts to effect the way you do things. But this mother put her children’s’ needs above everyone else’s and that is just plain awesome.
If you are a mom check out my post Busy as a Mother: Life Hacks to Keep Your Sanity.
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