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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I offered my toddler a drink

468 replies

bridgetjones1 · 18/02/2021 15:47

And a full on tantrum ensued. Crying, throwing herself on the floor and generally distraught that I'd had the temerity to offer something so shocking!!

YABU - I am a terrible mother
YANBU - Toddlers are crazzzzzy

Obviously this is very light hearted. Hoping and praying that this is a short term phase and that her twin sister doesn't decide to follow suit Confused

Anyone want to offer a hand hold or offer advice, equally baffling reasons for meltdowns would be appreciated

OP posts:
MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes · 18/02/2021 16:35

I really really want to vote YABU for daring to offer a toddler the wrong colour cup. Bad mummy. Grin My 8 year old sometimes still kicks off about that.

Inthemuckheap · 18/02/2021 16:37

DD wanted to be on 'the lead' like the dog so I put her wrist 'lead' on and she threw herself on the floor as she wasn't a dog she was a little girl so I took it off and she threw herself on the floor as she wanted the lead on to be like the dog.... I think she wanted it around her neck which wasn't going to happen!

IHaveBrilloHair · 18/02/2021 16:38

I'm not sure they get much more rational tbh.
Dd's best ever insult to me when she was 12 is, "well you're just jealous because I like Coldplay and you don't"

She's now 19 and I wind her up for fun.
The other night she was furious because I insisted that The Shire from LOTR is actually called Hobbitioland.
I then told her I stay up late thinking up new ways to be mean to her.
Grin

OverSha · 18/02/2021 16:39

Actually now I think about it a certain member of my family had a raging tantrum over the wifi not working last week.

(DH aged 57).

I should remind him next time he asks when the DCs will be old enough to grow out of the tantrumming stafe,

OverSha · 18/02/2021 16:40

posted too soon. *tantrumming stage.

Sobeyondthehills · 18/02/2021 16:40

My DS had a massive strop once it went something like this

DS: But mummy I was to speak to M but can't (M is Spanish, but speaks English)
Me: Its ok M can speak English, while we are learning Spanish
DS: Gets worked up But I can't speak English

The whole conversation was conducted in English

ememem84 · 18/02/2021 16:40

toddler girl (18m) threw a strop this morning because she couldn't put all eleventy million of her dummies in her mouth at once and then threw them all on the floor. then stropped because she then had no dummies and wanted them.

toddler boy (3) stropped last night because he didnt want to sit at the tap end of the bath. his sister (toddler girl) moved for him without even being asked. but no. he still wasnt happy.

terrible parenting

Bumpsadaisie · 18/02/2021 16:41

@bridgetjones1

And a full on tantrum ensued. Crying, throwing herself on the floor and generally distraught that I'd had the temerity to offer something so shocking!!

YABU - I am a terrible mother
YANBU - Toddlers are crazzzzzy

Obviously this is very light hearted. Hoping and praying that this is a short term phase and that her twin sister doesn't decide to follow suit Confused

Anyone want to offer a hand hold or offer advice, equally baffling reasons for meltdowns would be appreciated

Appalling behaviour. You should be ashamed. Did you not know she did not require a drink? What's wrong with you woman.
CroutonsAvatar · 18/02/2021 16:41

My favourite tantrums have been over not being able to touch a dog poo and waking up from a nap and finding Louis Theroux on the tv. That one was epic. About 45 minutes of consoling.

Oddly, most of these tantrums can be remedied by playing the Pointless theme tune. Toddlers are a riddle.

MatildaTheCat · 18/02/2021 16:42

@Esspee

I had two boys (long time ago) neither of them threw tantrums. I remember one friend’s child who did and the rest of us young mums were completely aghast. Why does it seem to be so prevalent nowadays?
Oh dear, it must have been me. My DS had EPIC tantrums. Grin

Actually, on reflection so did most of the toddlers I’ve ever met.

Oddly I think of them slightly fondly now so utterly mad were they.

micc · 18/02/2021 16:43

My DD threw a huge wobble last night because I said she needed to go to bed... and she 'couldnt remember how to go to bed'.

2018SoFarSoGreat · 18/02/2021 16:43

i am still suffering flashbacks from when I had the temerity to break my DS's cereal. I, foolishly, but I accept it was I who erred, put the spoon in the bowl so that he could eat. My fault, mea culpa. It. Was. EPIC!

(he'll be 40 next birthday, but time does NOT always heal...)

Ohalrightthen · 18/02/2021 16:43

@Esspee securely attached children feel confident in expressing their emotions in the "safe space" of their parents' presence. Insecurely attached children, or those that don't feel safe with their parents, tend to be much more controlled at a much younger age, for fear of reprisals. The emotional repression has serious repercussions as they get older.

CleverCatty · 18/02/2021 16:44

Was it laced with medicine, aka Calpol etc?! Or was it just something she shock horror didn't want to drink or had changed her mind?!

How dare you try and quench her thirst or second guess her?! LOL

find the cutted up pear one if you haven't seen it before Grin

My DM recalls when I was a toddler (apparently I was an angel and had little or no tantrums Hmm) I wanted to do stuff myself e.g. not her doing it.

RabbityMcRabbit · 18/02/2021 16:44

My older daughter had a complete and utter meltdown at age 3 or 4 because she had done a poo so I flushed the toilet and she was screaming "my ickle poo has goooooonnnne!". Toddlers be crazy!

lucylouz · 18/02/2021 16:44

My LG will fall apart at the slightest thing. You can look at her and she will have a meltdown some days. She especially doesn't like it if I dare to give her any piece of food that is broken (biscuit, banana etc) has to be perfect or she wants nothing to do with it. She also gets very cross with me if I call her anything that isn't her name eg honey, bear, gorgeous whereas other days she will get cross with me if I do call her by her name and then will shout 'I'm not 'name' I'm HONEY!!!' It really is a whirlwind of emotions for her and me ConfusedBlush

Deathraystare · 18/02/2021 16:45

*@Esspee

I had two boys (long time ago) neither of them threw tantrums.
I remember one friend’s child who did and the rest of us young mums were completely aghast.*

This was in the good ol' days of chaining them in basements, gagged, then only giving them gruel if they promised never to misbehave again. Yeah! Great times! There are so many books about the misery of the good ol' days.

MotorwayDiva · 18/02/2021 16:46

DD never had public tantrums, until one day when she was four, nearly five and had the biggest meltdown in a carpark. Whilst I was trying to calm her down some one tried asking me for directions!
Managed to wrangle DD into the car seat and she calmed down straight away and said thankyou mummy please can we go home

SaucyHorse · 18/02/2021 16:46

My youngest (3.5) is mostly growing out of throwing this kind of ridiculous strop and although I wouldn't exactly say I miss them, they are actually really funny in hindsight if not at the time.

Except the constant fighting about what colour everyone's cups and plates are. Both him and my eldest (5.5) STILL kick off about having the wrong colour cup if they have different colours from each other. Rather pathetically, I usually try to avoid the issue by making sure they have the same colour. Blush

My favourite that I can remember off the top of my head was my son having a meltdown because a geyser was simultaneously "boring" and "too surprising".

Pinkflipflop85 · 18/02/2021 16:46

We thought we were winning at parenting with ds. So chilled, never had a tantrum.

Then dd came along....

Turns out it was nature not nurture 😂

KitKat1985 · 18/02/2021 16:46

I once cut DD's sandwiches into squares rather than triangles. Paid heavily for that one.

@Esspee ODFOD.

1WayOrAnother2 · 18/02/2021 16:47

Impossible and amazing toddlers!

We were caught unprepared for a sudden summer storm.

Hurrying back home with toddler (on DH's shoulders) she began to cry because it was raining on her.

DH was amazed that when I gave each of us an imaginary umbrella, the crying stopped.

It started again 10mins later - not because she was still getting wet but because she wanted the pink imaginary umbrella I had, rather than the yellow imaginary one she had! :)

horridhorrid · 18/02/2021 16:48

@Esspee

I had two boys (long time ago) neither of them threw tantrums. I remember one friend’s child who did and the rest of us young mums were completely aghast. Why does it seem to be so prevalent nowadays?
Because in the olden days, it was believed that children should be seen and not heard, so people used to smack their children to make them shut up.
BrumBoo · 18/02/2021 16:49

@OverSha

Actually now I think about it a certain member of my family had a raging tantrum over the wifi not working last week.

(DH aged 57).

I should remind him next time he asks when the DCs will be old enough to grow out of the tantrumming stafe,

I cannot remember the reason why now, but my 30 something husband once actually stomped his foot whilst getting cross with something/me, with matching whiny voice. It was so bloody ridiculous and he's quite lucky I didn't LTB (leave the baby) over it. I similarly remind him that he's not perfect when the children lose the ability to control their emotions.
Significantown · 18/02/2021 16:49

😂 this thread has brought back such happy memories. Of being relieved that someone else’s child was having a tantrum so at least it wasn’t dd this time.

@Esspee were you that really mean woman on the bus back from Butlins telling everyone your children never had tantrums when another Mum was struggling?