I’ve been raising my 3 year old by myself for a while now, and from time to time have to check myself and remember, “she’s supposed to act like a 3 year old, because of course she IS a 3 year old.” There have been times that I’ve thought that my little girl was acting like a little kid. Then I remember, she is a little kid. And I think to myself how insane it would be for me to think she should act any different than she’s supposed to act.

Really, at the end of the day, aren’t kids supposed to act like kids? They aren’t supposed to act like adults for God’s sake. Sometimes that little tidbit of information is hard to remember when you have an important phone call to make and a little someone won’t stop asking you who’s on the phone. At those times it can definitely be hard to remember that being curious and the center of attention is what a 3-year old is supposed to do. The point is that we still need to do our best to remember.

I wouldn’t change my situation for the world. If for no other reason because it gives me a tremendous amount of respect not only for my mother, but any stay at home mom anywhere in the world. The next person that says that staying at home with the kid’s isn’t as hard as any job on the planet should be put in jail! I’ve told people close to me that staying at home with my daughter has its challenges, but I love it. How my mother did it with three of us is beyond my realm of comprehension. If I had to deal with any more than my daughter I would be on a fast track to the loony bin. I’m positive of that.

The bottom line about dealing with kids is to remember that a 3 year old is supposed to act like a 3 year old. Oh, and never forget what Bill Cosby said about parenting,”No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I’m not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal.”

That quote rings true in my experience and I think if you conceptualize it, it must ring true in you experience as well. For me, the most important thing to remember is to enjoy the ride. Ten years from know I’ll be glad I did this and hopefully my daughter will as well. Just as long as I remember that a 3 year old is supposed to act like a 3 year old.

By: Trevor Kugler

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