Don't Judge Me!
Have you ever been that person that sees a child in the store acting up and all that you can think is "That parent needs to do better"! Or you may say: "If it were my child, they wouldn't do that to me."
Well, I used to be that person that judged parents in the store! Yes, I'm guilty! I was raised to discipline your child so they won't do those things in public (which is true for my sons and even Olivia)! The fact of the matter is that, "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON UNLESS YOU ASK!"
Now that I'm on the other side of things, I have a different perspective! It could possibly be, that the child is just spoiled and needs to be disciplined or it could be a child with a disability learning a new social skill like how to conduct themselves in a public setting! You just never know and it's best not to judge. Don't judge a book by its cover!
Having Olivia in my life has been a wonderful and humbling experience! But let me tell you about Olivia and her development, Home Girl (Olivia), will quickly drop that weight real quick when she walks! It's because of 2 things: Olivia muscle tone and her stubbornness! With her having lower tone than the typical child, it's hard to have her stand up quickly because of her muscle tone. Also, kids with Down Syndrome tend to be VERY, did I say VERY STUBBORN (it seems like it gets worse as they get older.) When my child falls to the ground, it's not because of the lack of parenting, it's because Olivia has to work past that stubbornness and she has been challenged to do something she doesn't like to do. Olivia's therapists, her family, and I, push Olivia to strive for what she is capable of doing, which is a lot!
A situation happened to me last week, which prompted me to write this post. Olivia had a doctor's appointment to see how she was progressing with her G-tube coming out of her stomach a few months ago. So I thought this would be a great opportunity for Olivia to practice walking in a public place with me because Liam (my 7 month old baby boy) was at home with my husband. Since I had Liam this past March, Olivia has been transported from place to place in a stroller with Liam because that's the easiest way for me to transport both babies at one time. So this is a whole new experience for Olivia to be without the stroller.
As I was walking from a great appointment, one women saw that Olivia just plopped on the floor because she didn't want to walk anymore, but she didn't realize that I was practicing with Olivia on how to walk from place to place, and that Olivia met her goal for the day. She preceded to make a comment (which wasn't rude), and I had to catch myself before I said anything. See, I have learned that I don't have to explain myself to her. I knew what my mission was and Olivia accomplished her goal. I just smiled and left.
See, you don't know what that child or parent may be going through. That child may have a disability and you wouldn't know that struggle the parent may have had with their child. I know for me, it is a bit embarrassing when Olivia drops her weight and she won't stand up immediately and people may look at me like "get your child under control". But if she is reaching goals that me, my husband, and her therapists have set for her, then she is GOOD!
Just know that when you see me walking in the store or in public with Olivia and she sits on the ground, it's because I'm challenging Olivia to walk to every place she needs to go. I'm challenging her because I know she can do it! I'm pushing her to persevere past the hard things! I'm preparing her for her future. So I will take one for the team! I will take the embarrassment because I love her and I want her to succeed!
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