Stranger addresses mom whose toddler is having an enormous temper tantrum in public
Yes, toddlers are cute and all. But they’re also ticking timebombs of rage. Most parents hope that their toddlers only detonate at home. Sherry White was not so lucky.
The day had been going just swell for Sherry White. The teacher turned stay-at-home mom was at the mall with her young daughter when the worst happened.
At first, the toddler started screaming in the middle of TJ Maxx. Then she started stamping on the floor.
Being an attentive mother, Sherry tried to calm her daughter down. But anything she said only made the child’s tantrum worse.
A trip to the bathroom didn’t calm the girl down at all. Would anything, Sherry began to wonder?
Back on the store floor, people were walking past Sherry and the raging child.
The mother could feel the judgment of everyone else, “like the sun burning a hole in me,” as they walked past.
The problem was that Sherry could not blame the passersby.
Her daughter was acting so inappropriately, and Sherry had failed to contain it.
But then someone approached Sherry. She was smiling.
It was a woman a little older than Sherry. Then she did something that would make the situation much better.
She squeezed Sherry’s arm and whispered the following words into her ear: “It’s okay. You’re doing great.”
Immediately, Sherry’s mood changed. She realized that while some people were judging her, others, like the lady who had approached her, were sympathetic.
“Because without knowing it, I needed to hear that.” – Sherry
Sherry turned away from the stranger. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks, and she didn’t want the woman to misinterpret them.
Before Sherry could thank the stranger, she had gone. Eventually, Sherry’s daughter calmed down, and both of them were able to carry on with their day.
Sherry hoped that she would spot the lady again to thank her, but she was nowhere to be found.
Just before driving home, Sherry posted the entire story to Facebook, where it touched many people.
To date, almost 2,000 people have reacted to the post. It also has hundreds of comments and shares. People have been saying things like this:
We should all be like the stranger in this story.
It takes very little effort to do what she did. But as the story shows, it made a huge difference to Sherry. Instantly, her self-esteem rose and she was able to put things in perspective.
Yes, there are a range of things that parents can do to try to appease a child who is going through a temper tantrum, like positive attention and distracting the child, but sometimes these fail.
All you can do when this happens is weather the storm. It’s ok that Sherry was left with no other option but to do this. And when it happens to you, that’s ok too. It’s all just a part of parenthood.
Luckily, Sherry’s daughter soon grew out of her temper tantrums, and shopping trips have been much more enjoyable since!
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