When your children notice when you are sad
We have been discussing emotions so today my 3 year old said I was sad or looked sad. It hurts because he is right. I am. I feel depressed and have highs and lows in my mood. Sad part is, at the time I was trying to be present and in the moment while he was doing arts and crafts by having all eyes on him but I guess because I had my chin resting in my hand, elbows on my knees leaning towards him with a emotionless face, he interrupted it so well. His dad and I are going through it. His dad hasn’t been around to our place of stay because it’s so toxic right now. I can’t hide everything forever. I told my son I wasn’t sad and it was such a lie. I have to get it together. Tired of feeling down, stuck and confused. I want to to be able to enjoy these little moments more despite my messed up life outside of motherhood.
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@Natalie Thank you ❤️ I am usually pretty open about explaining things to him but I was definitely stuck then thinking he would ask Why? Those are great ways to respond so that I won’t feel like I have to fake the funk. I’ll try something like that next time. Praying for happier days.
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You are a human being and are totally allowed and even expected to be sad some times!! Especially w relat challenges.I agree with you that kids can sense so much so I started being honest with my son if he asks if I’m sad. I tell him that all emotions are part of being human and that sadness and anger come and go like clouds just the same as happiness and excitement come and go and that’s normal. Where I do reassure my son is when I say I’m sad I also tell him that I’m capable of handling it and I have a plan to [insert coping skill here] (take some deep breaths, take a bath after he goes to bed, read my fave book, go for a walk etc) to show him that my emotions are my responsibility not his. This way he can start copying what I do when he’s sad. He might even like to join in for example if he said mama are you sad, id say yeah I’m feeling a little sad I was thinking of going for a walk to help me feel better do you wanna come with me and we can finish our craft when we get back?