Henry looks like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, except when he turns on a typical toddler tantrum. Photo: Keeli Royle.
My toddler completely lost his marbles in public on Mother’s Day.
The combination of a few new teeth, a bad night’s sleep, some big days travelling and not enough breakfast was an absolute recipe for disaster for my 13-month-old.
We sat there in a busy cafe just outside of Launceston as he screamed, threw things on the ground and banged his head on the table.
It was the type of tantrum that turned heads and made every other parent think, “Thank God that’s not my kid”.
Mind you, he also had a solid bruise on his head from a fall two days prior which made him look like he’d been in a bar fight, so everything about this was screaming “bad parent”.
Every fibre of my being wanted to bail out of brunch and make a break for it, but a few friendly faces made it almost manageable.
Being the day it was, the cafe was chockablock with families with kids of all ages, and yes, mine was the only one carrying on like a fruit loop.
But while these parents could’ve taken the opportunity to just bask in the fact that their child was sitting quietly and being cheerful, one mother beside us and her young daughter made the extra effort to try to cheer our baby up – playing peekaboo, bringing over a colouring book to play with him and even offering to share their pancakes.
Honeymooning with a toddler was a challenge, but the kindness of strangers made it much easier. Photo: Keeli Royle.
Another moment of relief was just after Henry had thrown a spoon across the room and the waitress picked it up and said to us, “Don’t stress about it” – a simple acknowledgment that, despite us making a ruckus and disturbing customers, made us feel they were still on our side.
Honeymooning with a one-year-old hitchhiker has certainly had its challenges.
It has felt a bit odd pulling up a highchair in a fancy restaurant or wine tasting with a pram in tow but it’s the attitude of people around that can really make or break an experience.
A scowl, side-eye or even seemingly harmless comment about a mess he’s made eating (which I will absolutely clean up shortly!) can make stress levels skyrocket.
And the stress will likely not even be about what the child is doing, rather the sudden realisation of all the ways things could go wrong (If they’re too loud are we going to get kicked out? Have other people made complaints?)
But a simple nod of understanding or smile by a stranger can completely shift everything and make the whole experience so much more relaxing.
Parents have enough on their plate without needing to worry about how everyone else in a restaurant is feeling, so an acknowledgment or expression that we haven’t ruined your entire day by disrupting your meal can go a long way.
Holidaying with kids can be hard but it’s not always a helping hand that you actually need, sometimes it’s just a friendly face.
