Picking Battles with a Toddler

On today’s episode of “Pick Your Battles”… Do you ever find yourself making rules, but only because you think those are supposed to be the rules? And then you realize it’s not something you even care about and you’re only doing it so you look good to other people?

Do you ever find yourself making rules, but only because you think those are supposed to be the rules?

When we left today, it was in the low 50s. We put everyone in pants and winter coats and didn’t bring K a change of clothes or shoes because we thought it was too cold for water play. We also told K this when we left. When we got to the aquarium, the outside area didn’t feel too bad. It was about 60, the sun was shining, the buildings were blocking the wind, and K wanted to take her shoes off. I still felt like it was a little too cold, but not frostbite-cold or hypothermia-cold. (In Michigan, these are the standards for cold.)

We thought it was too cold for water play.

I looked at Jason and he shrugged. Neither of us felt like this was an important battle to fight. It wasn’t a safety issue, it didn’t impede other people’s abilities to enjoy themselves, so we let her go for it. Fast forward 5 minutes… Now K wants to take her shirt off.

On one hand, we didn’t want the other parents to think we were hillbillies…

On one hand, we didn’t want the other parents to think we were hillbillies; on the other hand, a dry warm shirt to wear on the walk home makes way more sense on the windy bike path than a cold wet shirt… So again, we shrugged. In a couple years, society will dictate that she needs to wear a shirt anytime she wants to go out in public! Shirt AND shoes if she wants to go inside places.

How often do you get to be not-even-3 and run around shoeless and shirtless in public?

How often do you get to be not-even-3 and run around shoeless and shirtless in public? We may have gotten a few looks, but it was totally worth it. K had a blast, and Jason and I had enough patience left to battle “no standing in the stroller”, “no playing on the stairs”, ” no squeezing your sister’s face with your feet”… You know, all the good stuff. Sometimes the key to keeping your sanity is learning when to let it go.