8 Things Not To Worry About When You Have A Toddler

When we were younger, I remember my grand-mum telling us repeatedly ‘worrying is like a rocking chair that gives you something to do, but gets you nowhere’. I never really understood it, until now. Having a toddler, a very active toddler climbing up the stairs and running down, throwing her food on the floor and eating off the floor, constantly throwing her blankets off her body at night, one worries about which one might get her first, the mosquito bites or the cold. Lo and behold, grandma’s words now settle deep in my thick skull.

When you have a toddler, there are some specific things that you should just stop worrying about. Find some of them below.

1. The Mess

Toddler-hood is messy. People often say that you don’t experience the brunt of motherhood when you are pregnant, it’s the next 5 years that makes it what it is. So when you put things in order, your toddler is probably throwing them right back on the floor. Don’t spend time worrying about what people thought about your house when they came visiting. Motherhood is messy.

2. Toddler Appropriate Behavior

A lot of parents spend a lot of time worrying about what’s appropriate and what’s not for a toddler. From snatching toys from other children, to refusing to share, to pushing at the play ground. This doesn’t mean you are a bad parent or your toddler is a bad child. You’re child is growing, and spending so much time worrying about this would just be wasting your time.

3. Public Humiliation

Every parent needs to get used to this, and if you don’t have one, develop thick-hard-granite like skin. Your toddler will publicly humiliate you, and sometimes it will hurt. They are not doing this out of spite or hate for you, they are still getting to know and respect boundaries.

4. Tantrums

For toddlers, throwing tantrums come with the territory. You can teach your child better ways to express themselves as they grow. Until they are old enough to understand and grasp that tantrums never gets anybody anywhere, you’re just going to have to stop worrying whenever your child throws one, they will come around sooner than you think.

5. Your friend’s children

Every mother at some point, compares their child with another person’s child. Even if you never voice it out, you think it. Try to always remember that every child is different and will blossom at their own time and pace. If your friends toddler is singing her ABC’s fluently, yours can’t even blurt out mummy clearly enough, don’t worry mama, be happy.

6. Dirt

Its hard to tell any parent not to worry about dirt, because of the germs that come along with it. Toddlers are drawn to dirt like magnets, they find it anywhere, even in places you didn’t know it existed. Just watch them, let them have their feel of it and clean them up. You will need to stock up on disinfectants more for now.

7. Not meeting up to your pre-motherhood expectations

Every mother has her expectations before the baby arrives. Sadly not every mother can meet up with those plans or goals. Life has a way of throwing things at you, so once again, you don’t need to beat your self up because you haven’t accomplished anything on your list. Check life’s list, you are soaring with excellent colors.

8. The Future 

Thinking about the future of your child, most parents can get anxious. The key is to try to live in the now, your life will be so much more peaceful. Worrying about the future means that you will waste time being miserable because it is impossible to know what the future holds for anyone. Just take it a day at a time, and worry no more.