The other day I was sitting with a group of moms I didnât know well in the waiting area of our daughtersâ gymnastics studio. Class was about to end and one of the women in the group sighed, grabbed her purse, and muttered, âClass is almost over. Now the battle begins.â She then shared with us that she almost didnât enroll her daughter in this particular class because there are unhealthy snacks for purchase right near the exit. Thereâs no way to get out of the studio without passing the snacks. She equated the weekly how-do-I-get-out-of-here-without-buying-my-kid-pop-tarts showdown with doing battle.
As she got up, each mom at the table nodded in agreement. I breathed a sigh of relief. For the six months my daughter has been enrolled in the class, I, too, have dreaded our exit. Iâve dreaded the snack battle. Iâve mentally cursed the gymnastics studio for even having the snacks on hand. At the very least, Iâve wished they could place them elsewhere, giving parents who donât want to buy an unhealthy snack a chance to get out of the studio without having to choose between battling their kid and buying junk food.
I realized then that Iâm not alone in my daily annoyances. There are those little things that other parents, classes, and schools could do to make our lives as parents just a tiny bit easier. Iâm not saying itâs their job. Iâm just saying it would be nice.
So if youâre bothered, youâre not alone. Iâm not embarrassed to admit these things wind me up. You?
1. Unhealthy snacks sold at the dance/gymnastics studio. I try not to be the food police with my kids; however, when I take them to a class thatâs supposed to inspire health and fitness, it feels ironic and somewhat inappropriate to have a snack bar filled with junk. Sure, I donât have to buy my kid one of those snacks. But since theyâre always placed right by the exit, thereâs no way to exit without a showdown or giving in. Both could be avoided if the studio would move the snacks, or provide healthier choices.
2. Parent-teacher conferences scheduled for the same week as a national holiday. I love to spend time with my kids as much as the next gal, but I also have to work. Whenever there is a three-day weekend and my kidâs school also schedules a short day, day off, or parents need to be at school event the same week, I grind my teeth. Turns out, Iâm not the only one.
3. Halloween â every time it falls on a school night. Every parent knows that the mecca of little kid holidays is Halloween. My kids talk about Halloween for 364 days a year starting on November 1. Maybe yours do, too. But, Halloween on a school night is a bit of a buzzkill and leads to some seriously tired and cranky kids the next morning.
4. Strangers who offer my kids candy, without asking my permission first. I personally never offer anyoneâs child food or treats without first asking the parent if thatâs okay. But countless times, a well-meaning passerby will hand my kid some random candy. Itâs not just that I try to limit my kidâs candy intake, but those well-intended strangers seem to always give my kids something they can choke on. Maybe just donât offer, even if you mean well.
5. The parent who cuts the carpool line. I donât think thereâs a parent in the world that isnât always running late and in need of more time in her day, but thereâs always one parent at school who thinks she is the only one. So she cuts the carpool line. The first time, all is forgiven. Weâve all missed the turn after all. But when you realize the same car cuts the line every day, it winds you up. And no one says a word because we all want to make nice because our kids go to school together. But parents are secretly seething every time they see the same car cut the line. I know I am.
6. Strangers who get offended when my kids refuse to hug them. For whatever reason, grown-ups love to ask kids for hugs as if the kid is a tiny little celebrity. But since kids are human, and humans donât always want to hug random people they meet in a restaurant or grocery store, sometimes the kid says no. Saying no to hugging a stranger doesnât make a kid rude. In fact, it means the child has some sense of boundaries and personal space.
7. Sick kids at school. Selfishly, I hate seeing a sick kid from my kidâs class trudging in to school because I know thereâs a good chance my kid will get what that kid has. School is also no place for a sick kid, nor is it fair to the teachers to put them in charge of nursing a kid who should probably be at home in bed. Itâs inconvenient for working parents, but school is for healthy kids. Even when itâs inconvenient for mom and dad.
8. People who are judgy about a childâs public tantrum. If youâve ever endured a childâs tantrum (I have!), you know there is very little a parent can do to end or shorten a childâs outburst. Most kids who have a tantrum canât regulate their emotions or are tired, but there are those judgy strangers who think a kid having a tantrum is a bad egg or a brat. Having been the mom in public who has had to patiently wait while my kid finished melting down, I can tell you that thereâs no need to judge a parent or child mid-tantrum. Offer to help if youâre going to do anything.
9. Single friends who say, âYouâre not the same since youâve had kids!â I have fewer single friends now than when I first had kids, but I always hated when the friends without kids would comment on how much Iâd changed since having a kid. Or worse yet, theyâd complain that I wasnât available to them as often as I was pre-kids. Two kids came out of my uterus. So no, Iâm not the same. And yes, I have less time.
10. The dad filming the school concert with a giant iPad â and blocking everyoneâs view. Despite every childâs performance being filmed by the school or studio, thereâs always at least one parent who wants to capture it on video. But instead of politely crouching low in the front or on the side of the auditorium, some parent will hold up a giant iPad to video the show. The screen will be bigger than some of the children and everyone behind will miss a good portion of the show.
More Mom Confessions:
- I Refuse to Apologize for Being âAttachedâ to My Daughter
- I Wonât Judge You for Yelling at Your Kids Because I Do it, Too
- Hey Moms, We Can Do Things Differently & Still Be Friends
Photo: Getty