Most parents would never talk about an incident like this…but lets be real! S#%T happens!!
Smelly Secret
Being a parent brings so many different emotions at different times. We feel happiness for our kids, disappointment, fear, pride, embarrassment and empathy. Today when I went to pick up my 3 year old from school, one of her teachers pulled me aside to say she had an accident at during the day. A BIG accident. Number 2 in her pants!! Something she had NEVER done before. She was toilet trained right after her 2nd birthday and had never had an accident involving poop! I couldn’t believe it! The teacher told me not to get upset with her because she had been extremely upset and embarrassed at school. My heart literally BROKE on the spot. The thought of my daughter feeling like she had done something wrong in front of all her friends just tore me to pieces!
This evening she was quite emotional and I could tell it was on her mind. I found myself fighting back tears over and over. As a parent- how do you treat an “accident” like this? The thought of the hurt, embarrassment and emotions going on in her little 3 year old brain.
Have you ever felt such empathy for your child that you cried as much as them?
~Nadia
Aww…that really “stinks”. No seriously, it sucks when your child feels bad. I would take it really easy on the child that day. Any tantrum could be due to her inability to express her sadness. When she is calmer, before bedtime, say, I would maybe poke at the subject gently to know what happened and how she’s feeling without overdramatizing. Because after all she’s 3 and often at that age the feeling of inadequacy comes as a reflexion of an adult’s disapproval more that her peers’. If you make her feel likes it’s no biggy, that something like this happened to you in the past when you were little, while of course not minimizing her feelings, then she probably will feel reassured and her sense of security will be reestablished. It would give her perspective that she’s not the only one and that despite little accidents you still became an amazing person ( the best one in the world in her eyes). Use this as an opportunity to hold her hand and lift her spirits and be the best mama in the whole world to her. ☺️
Thanks Nelly! You are truly a supermom with 4 boys!! Thanks for the advice.