My Little Runaway

Well, it happened. Something that I thought would nevvvvver happen to me. I lost my child in the store today. This only happens to neglectful parents, not me. See, here we are, before 'the incident'.

Ok, this clearly isn't me and my little guy, but I liked her hair. The kid's sweater is a little questionable, but whatever. 

Anyways, I LOST MY KID AT THE STORE. *Sigh* How did this happen? He was being so good holding my hand - and then bam. Gone. Trying to sprint after a VERY fast little 2 year old while pushing a cart with your 6 month old in a car seat in it is not an easy task - amusing for someone to watch I'm sure, but not easy nonetheless. 

After what seemed like hours, I found my little stink and he greeted me with an adorable "Hi Mommy". Like nothing ever happened. Well, if there was ever a judgmental look cast in that place - it was today - and it was at me. I spanked his little butt, put him in the cart and went straight home. With all 3 of the 100 items I had came for. Great.

The ride home was a piece of cake for him. Pointing out all the cool trucks and planes in the sky. Meanwhile, my nostrils were flaring like an enraged bull and my blood was boiling. After I regained some composure I called one of the best moms know and asked her for advice. She told me it had happened to her once (oh, thank heavens I'm not the only one) before. She said that I should sit him on his bed and tell him what he did wrong, why mommy was so upset and he was to sit there until I told him he could get up. He knew he was in trouble and was being extra sweet - making it that much harder for me to discipline him (although, after reading Dr. Dobson's Dare to Discipline I've learned that discipline is love). It's still not easy for me though. It's something I have to learn how to do - it's not something that comes naturally, that's for sure. I think it's from growing up with not ever knowing my own boundaries, but that's a discussion for another day for sure.

So, after tanning his little hide in the store and putting him in his room for a hour until he ended up falling asleep and explaining to him what he did wrong and why I was so upset, did I do the right thing? Will he do it again? I can't help but wonder if it's him being defiant or just a 2-year old little boy.

In either case, what's a girl to do? Well - what any self-respecting mom would. I strapped a leash on him and headed back to the store for redemption.

It was definitely a better trip - mostly because he was either confined to the cart or attached to me by a leash. He did pull a 'dead fish' a couple of times and I had to resist the urge to drag him down the aisle, but I persevered. I'm not really sure how to test him, since I don't want to lose him again and judging from the performance of the staff the last time it happened, I wouldn't have any help catching him.

It all boils down to discipline and sometimes I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing. I think discipline and consistency is one of, if not the hardest aspects of parenting. I'm reading some books about handling your child and his temperament with positive guidance that I'm hoping will help keep me headed in the right direction.

In the meantime, this will just have to do.

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