Ah parenting....
My dad used to say to my brother and I “stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” As a kid that statement always bothered me, as clearly I had something to cry about - why else would I be crying??? But now, as a parent, I understand the impulse to say that. After a 10 minute moaning/crying jag just now, I was about ready to “give him something to cry about” myself! But let me set the scene: Jaryth had just woken up from a 1.5 hour nap and was in a great mood. We played with his ball for several minutes, then he said he wanted toast with peanut butter, so we made that. Then he wanted water from the fridge. So he got his cup, and I unlocked the water dispenser. He held up his cup and filled it (about half full) with water. Then I locked the water dispenser. And he promptly got mad and dropped his cup. I kept my cool as I dried him and the floor off, calmed him down, and gave him back his cup and unlocked the water dispenser again. Lather. Rinse. REPEAT I didn’t stay as calm this time, as he started screaming (again) because he was (again) covered in water, there was water (again) all over the floor, and he still didn’t get a drink. I tried to calm him down, but I suspect the statement “you don’t get more water out of the dispenser if you’re just going to drop it on the floor” is what triggered the 10 minute crying/moaning jag. Toddlers can be a lot of fun. But sometimes, not so much.
