One of those toddler days.

Today has been a rough day for us and it's only half over. As I write the clock shows 12:58pm, which means I have 6 hours, 31 minutes, and 23 seconds left until my cherubs are asleep. O Lord, please give me strength.

M is showing his true toddler colors with emotional outbursts left and right. I am at my wits end...

Alas, I just found refuge in some sage web wisdom and landed on an article about surviving toddler tantrums. The author addresses some key points, highlighting the causes and effects of tantrums and how parents should appropriately deal with them. According to one of the docs quoted in article, "...(toddlers) want to do things like put on their clothes or feed themselves and they become frustrated with their limitations and the inability to communicate." YES! That's it! Today M's outbursts have been directly related to his frustration with toys. In response, he screams, cries, yells, and often throws the toy across the room. Not okay behavior.

One recommendation to handle such frustration is to "feed the meter" with pockets of time "fed" to the child by the parent to encourage appropriate play and communication. I am so guilty of depriving the little guy of one-on-one time. There is so much to do within the day on top of caring for another little life (baby T), I often find myself letting M off to do his own thing. He plays independently so well (or at least used to), I've become reliant on his self-entertainment. I guess it's time for this mama to sit down and play. What a good lesson for me to hear. My husband has a sixth sense for these things--just yesterday M was having the same trouble and GG sensed he need some extra TLC. After GG stopped, sat down, and engaged M, lo and behold, the tantrums stopped. This is one time when I will say my hubby knows best. Great work, honey. :)

"There are days when you'll be the perfect parent and days where parenthood is more a matter of survival. When those difficult days come, remember that parenting is a learning process for both you and your toddler." I will cling to this quote for my remaining 6 hours, 15 minutes, and 34 seconds. Today is not one of my proudest as a mama, but the bottom line is that I love my boys, love my job being their mom, and love the Lord. Those things should matter for something. God bless.