A Good Kind of Mom
By: Judy Dyck
The little ones; they make the best teachers.
You can hardly take offense, even if it is a rebuke coming from the mouth of an innocent sweetheart.
Potty training can be frustrating. I hope there’s more moms saying “amen” right now… Assure me I am not the only one who has gotten very frustrated during the process. Especially when it becomes a very drawn out, seemingly never ending process. I had one of those moments today, when AGAIN my child wet herself. As I took her out of the bathtub after washing her, she gave me this:
“We shouldn’t have a mom like dat,” she says, looking at my face.
Huh? I was taken a bit aback. “What do you mean? What kind of mom should we have then?”
“A good kind.”
Wince. “Am I not a good kind?”
“No.”
Ouch. “Why? What did I do that was not good??”
“You was mad at me,” she said, still looking at me.
I honestly wasn’t sure what she was referring to… But now she had me all the way. I sat down on the step with her and asked, “When was I mad?”
“When I peed myself.”
Oh. Oh that. Yes. Yes, I was…. Was I mad? I like to use the word frustrated…it sounds less…bad. But I realized, that’s what it looked like to her.
“Do good moms never get mad?” I asked.
She said no.
“So, what do good moms do when their children pee themselves?” I asked, actually wanting to know.
“They just…still be happy!” She giggled.
Hmm. One more question though, child.
“So, how do their children learn to not pee themselves then?”
I think her capacity for this conversation was almost maxed out by now, because her childish silliness started kicking in, and she giggled again and said, “I’m not gonna tell you!”
“No, really, how do they?”
And she said, “They just never pee themselves again!”
I said, “Okay. How about, I’ll be a good mom; I won’t get mad anymore, and you just never pee yourself again?”
“Okay!” She giggled, as if it was that simple.
She’s gone for her nap by now, but I’m still mulling over it. Good moms don’t get mad. We should have a good kind of mom. When their children do frustrating things, good moms “just still be happy”. A 3 year-old’s heart. Her wisdom.
My God, help me to be a “good kind of mom”.