10/05/2026
I think I , like many others, I came to motherhood thinking I would be protecting, caring, guiding...
I never realized I would become a student.
Children are strong teachers. They demand but they give, they take but they teach, a lot.
A few months ago, Toddler 1 and I had an argument. He told me "YOU are disgusting, Mama!"
What had happened was I was cooking while he was playing.🏎️
He likes to eat salt.
He took off his shoes, ran inside and grabbed the salt container to try and steal it.
I said, " Don't do that! That's disgusting."
He said "No. You are disgusting!"
I said, "I didn't say YOU are disgusting. I said that's disgusting."
"No. YOU are disgusting for calling me disgusting. You are disgusting, Mama! You are disgusting, Mama! You are disgusting!" His voice was cracking, and he wouldn't stop.
I know him, so I knew I had to switch lanes. I had to apologize.
I started talking about germs, and how these germs live on outside shoes and you can't see them. And you have to wash your hands before you touch the salt because the germs will go into the salt and make us ill. 🦠
He stopped. He calmed down. He started asking me about just how sick can bacteria and viruses make you...
What he taught me that afternoon was:
He couldn't hear my correction because "disgusting" sounded too harsh to his ears.
✍🏾 It doesn't matter how important what I have to say is if it cannot be heard.
I actually could find a kinder way to speak to him. When I tried, it took a few seconds to realize how else I could say the same thing.
✍🏾Say it, as kindly as possible.
✍🏾And stand for what I say I stand for - walk that talk.
I teach him to not let others hurt him, and he stood ten toes down on it, even when I was the one who hurt him.
Later, as I was thinking, I remembered a time when I had really bad acne and someone told me, " That looks disgusting." They never said "You look disgusting," but it still hurt. I didn't say anything in response though, so I felt so proud to know Toddler 1 did better than me.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies, grandmas, aunties, mentors, guardians, teachers raising these little ones while they raise us, too.
10/05/2026