Life lesson with a 2 year old.

At what point do you just put your hands in the air and say "I give up!"

 As a parent it is my job to make sure my kids have what they need to survive, give them all the tricks of the trade to have a good and productive happy life. 

I am struggling with my 2 year old son in swimming lessons. Since classes have started not one class has gone well. He has cried at each one saying "NO stop it, no stop it." Not just crying but screaming at some points too. I feel as if I am torturing him when i make him do as the class is doing. Then my mommy brain kicks in and says "No your not! It's a life skill he must know this stuff!." I straighten my back a little bit and keep going until this torturous 30 min is over. We then try to make a quite exit. 

I didn't really think i was spoiling him until i put him in this class setting. I have become very aware of his lack of understanding rules. Since starting this torture session every week I am trying hard,  NOT to let my only son get away with anything! He is now aware that a smack on the butt means he has done something wrong. What i seem to be forgetting, is that all these hissy fits are NORMAL! I KNOW RIGHT! I forget that he is just know learning that everything is not his. That when his sisters say "NO!" they mean it. Learning that not all attention is good attention. Trying to teach a toddler to have patience, is like trying to start a car without a key. Finding out that as a parent, sticking to my guns is important. That the hard things are the most important. When a grandparent tells you it goes on for 30 years they are not kidding. I have come to realise that for every life lesson they learn, we as parents learn one too. For the time being I am here to be his mother, not his friend. This lesson took me along time to learn.

So if you see me in that pool with my 2 year old screaming. Please don't judge. Instead see a mom trying to teach her son a life skill. Giver her a smile, because it takes a lot of  patience to stay in that pool.