An Encouragement for Moms of Toddlers

Today as I was sweeping under our dining room table (for the first time in…ahem…a few days), I realized things have changed around our house.

It used to be that if I didn’t take care of cleaning under the table after every time we ate, I would quickly have a sticky, goopy mess of smashed blueberries, tiny crumbs and unidentifiable objects that needed quite a bit of elbow grease to break up. Today, though? Today it was made clear to me that those days are behind me (knock on wood…at least until grandkids).

Yes, my kids still leave crumbs, but they are actually quite a bit better about not leaving huge messes, and if they do spill something, they oftentimes clean it up {gasp} without me asking. When did this happen? I asked myself.

You see, my youngest child is now almost 6 years old. All my kids dress themselves (just ask my mother-in-law, she will attest to this), they can all do the laundry (although sometimes white undies may end up pink…), they can make their own meals if needed (and know to at least include a protein with every meal so they don’t just eat fruit).

But not long ago, I had five kids under five:

Yes, you read that correctly. It was so tiring, Superman likes to say they drained him of his bone marrow. Those years are all kind of a blur now.

All this got me to thinking…I need to tell some of you moms of toddlers that it does indeed get better.

Remember that time you were in the middle of grocery shopping and your toddler had to go wee wee? Like right now? Remember having to ditch your grocery cart in the middle of the aisle, running with toddler in your arms, bolting into the stall, only to realize sweet little Johnny already whizzed in his pants?

This doesn’t happen to me now. If my youngest needs to go pee, I just send my 11-year-old with her. Or, if we’re close enough to the bathroom, I just send her on her own. No more wet undies. No more poo accidents. No more ditching the shopping cart! Hang in there, mom. Your pee and poo days will be over before you know it. Oh, and none of my kids pull down their pants to go pee in the park anymore. BONUS!

You know the deafening silence you hear when your toddler is somewhere in your house “entertaining” himself and after a few minutes, you realize this can only mean one thing: MESS?

When my kids are silent for extended periods of time now, it can only mean one thing: they’re getting along! If it’s quiet around our home, I know that my kids are actually enjoying each other’s company, and I can sit down and write a blog post about encouraging other moms. One day soon, you will enjoy this silence too, mom. However, if you want a quick and easy solution now, I recommend buying toys like a John Deere pedal tractor that will keep them occupied all day. You could also make time for yourself this way.

I’m sure if you’re the mom of a toddler, you know all about the tantrum. You’re probably familiar with the writhing-on-the-floor, arched-back, red-faced screaming that comes when a toddler is not happy with what’s going on in his world. 

It’s been years since I’ve seen one of these tantrums. Now, not all of my kids were tantrum-throwers. My first was. Man, now that I think about it, that kid was a nightmare. My other ones, though? They each had different ways of making their voice heard: silent tears (probably my favorite), stomping, throwing things, stealing things (yes, this is true…), lying…I’ve seen it all. And it’s so much better now. Now, my kids are all old enough that if they’re upset because things didn’t go their way, I can actually have a conversation with them about real life. Like “the world doesn’t revolve around you so get over it.” Well, maybe a little softer than that, but you get the picture. It’s a lot easier to reason with a child who you can actually exchange a conversation with. One day you will have a real conversation with your child, mom. I promise.

The mess. Oh, the mess. 

I don’t think I really need to say anymore. When you have a toddler, there is a never-ending stream of toys and random objects from around the house covering your floors. You go around picking things up, they follow after you “decorating” the house after you. It’s a never-ending circle that is exhausting. At some point, you realize you just have to let the house go or you’ll go all crazy-eyes on your family.

My kids still leave stuff out, but it’s a heck of a lot better than it was. I typically confiscate things that I find laying around and then charge the kids money to get them back. It was bad for a couple years, and my kids were constantly in debt. But I don’t even remember the last time I had to charge them for something left out. And now, if I say, “Let’s do a quick clean up!” they can actually clean the house up fast, and things get put {mostly} where they belong. Your house will be clean again one day, mom.

Toddlers are exhausting. They are dirty and sticky and require your constant attention. But it gets better! I love hanging out with my kids now, and I’m only a few years ahead of you! At some point, you look at them and say, “Wow! I have pretty cool kids!” and your eyes aren’t all bloodshot and you don’t fall asleep in the middle of your sentences anymore. 

Hang in there, moms of toddlers! You are in the thick of it now, but when you get to the other side (and it’ll come soon!!) you’ll feel like the true warrior you really are!