Mammy's first toddler meltdown (and the many mistakes I made)
Here's what I'd do differently in the same situation
The other day, I had my first dramatic-mammy-storms-out-of-shop moment, with the requisite accessory hanging off my hip: A demonic toddler. Or should I say MY demonic toddler. Look at me, distancing myself from my only child already.
Should I have known that a Saturday afternoon trip to the seventh circle of hell (Decathlon) would be a bad idea with an otherwise well-behaved two-year-old? Arguably yes. But naivety is something I practice like others practice gratitude or yoga, so OFF WE WENT.
It started off fine. She held my hand, she helped me pick out new gloves for football, she smiled sweetly at passers-by. Then we got to the ball section. I had *promised* her that we would buy her a basketball. See the naivety statement above.
The basketball section was full of parents and kids and bouncing and boisterousness and I hated it upon arrival, so I quickly spotted a €5 yellow basketball, relative to her tiny size, that would be ideal. We’ll be out of here in minutes, I told myself. Nailing this.
You can see where this is going.
“Mammy. I don’ like tha one.”