Ihad a bad parenting experience today.
It has shown me that last year’s mantra of “be kind” is completely out the window. Brody was 5 months old when the pandemic hit. To many that might not seem an important fact but today it seemed important. Today I experienced 2 people shouting at me because my children were making too much noise. Brody was crying. He was screaming. He was well and truly kicking off. The reason? Because I needed to have a drink. I needed 2 minutes for myself. The result? An man in his 60s or 70s shouting across a restaurant to me. His word “oh for god sake” followed by muttering as he turned around. A women from the same group did the exactly the same thing when Cleo got over excited. Cleo has ASD so her doesn’t know how to control her emotions.
I feel upset, angry, embarrassed. Being a mum can be hard. Really bloody hard and times like this just make it harder. I’m going to get my thoughts and feeling out in a blog post tonight too because that always helps.
It has happened to me once before when Elsa was a baby. She was crying in a supermarket and a man made a horrible comment. I will never forget that but today’s incident really is the icing on the cake.
I have been struggling lately. It isn’t something I have spoken about on here or my social media. It wasn’t something that I was going to share. This happening though has made me sad and angry. You never know what someone else is going through and that is why being kind is so important. I understand that there are going to be times that people don’t understand the situation. Not everyone has children. It isn’t something that everyone experiences. It doesn’t mean that you can be unkind though.
There has been alot of my plate at the moment. Sitting down to eat was something that I though might give me a break. Brody is a clingy baby. He was so young when the pandemic began and he has made no time away from me. He doesn’t understand being near people and sometimes, he can be demanding but every child can be like that at some stage.
That is where understanding comes in. I would never imagine shouting at someone because their child is making noise. It doesn’t matter where you are either. My children have a right to enjoy themselves too.
Please be kind. If you see someone struggling then please understand that they might have alot going on. Being a parent isn’t easy. Be easy on each other.
The Coastal Mummy 