2 Year Olds Should Run the World

To the DAD in the school parking lot this morning,,,

This morning when I dropped the boys off at school, there was a dad walking through the parking lot carrying his screaming 2 year old son like a stack of potatoes in his arms. The boy was throwing the mother of all fits. I have no idea what he was screaming about as his words were a mix of tears and sobs. The dad just kept silent and kept walking. I smiled to myself and offered him a, "You're doing a great job Dad" comment in solidarity for all the parents that have ever carried a fit throwing 2 year old to the car. His response, with a weak smile and a soft voice, "I'm doing my best."

When I came back to my car about 5 minutes later, the dad was still in the parking lot. He had made some progress by putting the boy in the car but the child was now screaming about his seat belt. That's a tough one. I remember this battle with my kids long ago. You wonder why they even think it's an option since in the last 730 days, they've never traveled in a car without a seatbelt. And yet, there's the power struggle. Short of the dad putting his knee against the child and buckling him in, the dad was in for a long wait.

I stopped at that moment and said a prayer for this dad. Whether he was just covering for one day for mom or this was his normal day job, this guy was going to need some back up. I couldn't really offer to buckle the child but I felt a huge amount of empathy for this guy. So I offered a prayer for his patience and for the son's submission.

It's hard to start your day off with a fit throwing 2 year old. Thankfully, my kids are past this stage. I can send them to their rooms, send me to my room or just take away their prized electronics (sometimes copious amounts of wine helps too).  But the stages of toddlerhood are a complicated quizzical mess. You can't reason with a 2 year old. You can't fully explain the ridiculousness of throwing an hour long fit to a 2 year old. You can't walk away and leave a 2 year old alone in the house.

I'm pretty convinced that 2 year olds should run the world. They're smart, driven and have great stamina for what they believe in. They will argue for hours because they are right. They possess an unnatural willpower that adults just don't have. They don't waver on their quick decisions (sneaking chocolate from the candy dish when you're not looking) and they can gather all the attention in the room with one loud scream. With a simple pouty face they have the world at their fingertips. They could care less what others think of them. They feel passion to their toes and let the world know it. They play hard and sleep hard and yet possess a ridiculous amount of energy to just keep going.

Yes, 2 year olds should run the world. We'd have more nap times, more candy and more playing. We'd run the day without a schedule because 1 hour at the park might just not be enough. We might not share well and always play nicely but at the end of the day, we'd all go to bed knowing that we've had a full productive day of decisions, playtime and eating with our fingers instead of utensils.

Someday, I hope a 2 year old will run the world with the same passion that they have right now! There might be some crying and fit throwing during their reign, but I bet there would also be a lot more laughter! So here's to all the two year olds out there...cheers to you my sweet little friends.

Wouldn't you want one of these boys to run the world?

Okay, maybe one of these boys instead.