Remember that feeling in college when you're studying for exams and you have a complete break down? That's your toddler.

It is so easy to start getting frustrated with toddlers when they're flipping their lid. Especially if it's on and off and about every little thing, and you know they just need to hurry up and sleep!My almost 3 year old is having trouble napping during the day, and needs to be asleep by 7 (6:30 probably). Tonight he was having absolute melt downs. At one point he was crying that I couldn't bring our library book bag downstairs to the bedroom. And then he caught me off guard by saying,"Momma, I don't want to cry!"In that moment I had the revelation that he really REALLY doesn't have control over his emotions. It's not that HE is upset about the books because he's tired, it's that his MIND is too overwhelmed to handle even the simplest situation. My patience and empathy immediately increased. We went through a couple more meltdowns on the way to bed. And laying in bed he started crying again. I asked him what felt so upsetting, and he bawled out, "I don't know!" Eventually we made it to bed. He even surprised me by letting me leave the room so he could fall asleep on his own - something we just started within the week.I'm sure I'll forget this lesson, but for now, I'm going to do my best to remember it! Us parents aren't perfect, and I found it easier to be patient once I realized that this wasn't a battle of toddler logic, or even of toddler feelings. In this case, he probably saw the books (which we sometimes read for an hour) and the idea of reading any books, let alone an hours worth, sounded horrible to his brain. But his brain couldn't figure out how to tell me, "Mom, I'm too tired. Let's skip the books." via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2VR4wU0