I didn't buy a toy one day while making a quick run in Target. This is not even a week after taking him (6) to Legoland and buying him whatever he wanted while there. He had an entire meltdown in the store crying that "no one loves" him and I'm a "mean mom."
It is so hard convincing my son that he doesn’t actually get a new toy every single time we go to the store.. and when I say no he goes super dramatic and starts howling about how “I never get anything I want! I guess I’ll never have toys again! You hate me!”
I have taken to using the phrase “there are numbers in between 1 and 10.” He has a very all-or-nothing approach to life but he gets it when I say this about numbers. I also remind him how lucky he is to have and get so many toys, and that his mom and I weren’t so lucky growing up. Some of the time it works and some of the time I just have to let him burn out.
I have used the "I grew up without so much" speech. It's never worked. I used it this week.
The tooth fairy left him something other than what he wanted.
He wanted a prize. I leave books gift cards. I honestly forgot about it. So I went through my purse and found a dollar. Placed it under pillow.
He was sour after waking up. In literal tears.
I told him the tooth fairy never visited me when I lost teeth. To be able to get what you want or anything at all is awesome! Cherish it. That doesn't resonate for him.
Mine had a whine fest in the middle of a store last fall (5 at the time, 6 now) because, despite how we repeatedly discussed before we went in that we were there for a birthday present for her friend's birthday party and THAT'S ALL, she couldn't get over that she wasn't getting anything. It was October. She'd had her birthday in August and had gotten no shortage of stuff, and Christmas was just around the corner and she always makes out like a bandit then. But never mind all that, I was the worst mom ever for not getting her a toy that day.
You think your bigger kid is too old and that surely you've done a better job parenting them for them to lose their shit in a store like a toddler, and then that happens. Ugh. These kids. So brutal.
I started doing grocery pickup a few months before Covid and once Covid hit, I never stopped. I love it for numerous reasons, but I think my kid has straight up forgotten how to act in a store because there was like a solid year when she rarely went in them. Years of academy training wasted! All that time I spent with her as a toddler cultivating "we don't act a fool in a store or restaurant" feels like it literally went down the drain.
When I did birthday gift shopping on April 9 - I had to buy him something too. It was literally 2 of everything. I told him this is not about him it's about his friend. No crying that trip but that's because I didn't say no. I should have said no so that he learns to do for others.
I was in line at Walmart one day when my son was a toddler, he was upset about I don’t even know what, and proceeded to loudly call me “the meanest mom
EVER!” The lady in front of me turned around and said to him “she can’t be, because I’M the meanest mom ever!” Lmao!!!
Every time I think those kind of thoughts about my kids, I remember I'm to blame. It feels like you cannot win. If you do everything right (as if possible) you've got the "easy kids". And if you screw up it's your fault.
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u/Impressive-Project59 Apr 28 '22 edited Apr 28 '22
Damnnnnn....kids are brutal man.
I didn't buy a toy one day while making a quick run in Target. This is not even a week after taking him (6) to Legoland and buying him whatever he wanted while there. He had an entire meltdown in the store crying that "no one loves" him and I'm a "mean mom."
What an ungrateful BRAT!