On a recent trip while waiting at the gate to board the plane, a young mom with her two small children came and sat next to me. I began chatting with the mom and learned the girls were 2 and 5. The mom was prepared with books, toys and plenty of snacks but as we know, sometimes that isn't enough for a two year old. Prior to boarding the plane the two year old had a small meltdown and as all moms know, sometimes there just aren't enough words to calm down a two year old. Once on the plane, I noticed they were sitting across the aisle from me. I commented to the mom how well prepared she was with all the "tools" to keep the kids occupied. She smiled and and seemed to appreciate that I had noticed. The 2 year old was definitely getting tired and in a matter of seconds she started crying and then sceaming, refused to get in the seatbelt and threw herself down on the floor. The poor mom stayed calm and tried to reason with her but, as moms know, there is no reasoning with a 2 year old! I noticed the people around us were rolling their eyes and all I wanted to do was wave a magic wand to help her. I wanted to tell the people that were annoyed by this that sometimes a child, a really tired child can't be reasoned with. Long story short, after about 30 min the little girl finally calmed down, and fell asleep. The mom was looking lovingly at her and gently rubbing her face when she caught my eye. I was smiling and I again told how patient she was and what a great job she did with the situation. A few simple words that can make another feel so good! And I was glad I was there to say them :-) So, I guess the moral to this story is, next time you see a mom with a sceaming child, try not to judge as she may be doing the best that she can.
