A tip

It's so easy to know the right thing to do when you are not the parent.

Yesterday, we were at the pool when nearby mother informed her son that it was time to go home.  In a scene that was all too familiar to me, he began to scream and cry and shout. "You're not FAIR!  Why do we have to leave THIS MINUTE!" 

Ohhhh, have I been there. As anyone who was present at our local park one evening in June can attest to.  Yeah, that was me with the small, thrashing, screaming three-year-old.

But back to THIS small, thrashing, screaming three-year-old who was NOT mine.  I sat in my lounge chair and tried to pretend I couldn't hear as the mother restrained the boy and whispered through gritted teeth, "You are really making a scene.  Look at everyone looking at you."

"I'm sorry," he whimpered.

"Well, thank you for saying sorry," she said and, foolishly, relaxed her grip.

The ploy had worked!  The boy took off at a sprint, sobbing and hiccuping with rage at the unfairness of it all. 

But now he really had his mom in a tough spot.  (Again.  Been there.)  Now he had managed to get the baby pool between them and whichever direction she went, he darted in the other.  I tried to send empathy and support vibes to the poor mom as she attempted to catch him.  I know how ridiculous you feel when your preschooler is publicly mocking you, faking in one direction and then dashing in the other while you are panting and holding back tears.

And at this moment, Cameron leaned over and whispered to me, "This is really weird.  I mean, isn't it weird to see ANOTHER kid act like that?  I feel like I should go over to that mom and give her a tip.  'Hey, if you just pretend you're leaving, he'll follow you.  Just start walking away.'"

Thankfully, the mom had friends with her and together they closed off the escape routes and helped her get him to the car.  But I am saving this for the day that Cameron tells me about his own child's temper tantrum in public.