Walking around my local Sainsburys store this evening, my hubby Paul, pushed the trolley and I pushed our boys in their double buggy. Used to the nosey glances from strangers I push their pram with pride and revel in the smiles people give my gorgeous babies. Jack my eldest will smile at everyone (unless he’s throwing a tantrum or asleep) but 70% of the time he is cheekily grinning away, let me give you a glimpse…
How could you not smile back at that?!
But there are the odd few people, that will either ignore him (which doesn’t bother me too much, maybe they’re just not baby people…or just shy!) but there are some the will look at me and then look at my boys in utter disgust, reminiscing over previous unwelcome comments from people with a similar frown, I assume they are thinking something along the lines of…
“She’s too young to be a mum to two kids”….(I’m 23, but apparently look about 16!)
“They’re too close together in age!”…..(10.5 months between my boys…and I’m proud)
“How dare she take that much space up with a side-by-side buggy” (I refuse to have a pram where I can’t see one or either of my children, I want to see them both clearly all of the time)
These glances I’ve become accustomed too, but today I had a new experience completely. As we strolled down the baby aisle of Sainsburys we saw a little girl toddling alongside her Daddy who couldn’t have been much older than Jack, she looked like she was enjoying herself and burning energy (two birds…one stone). Since the store wasn’t busy and had rather wide aisles we decided to let Jack free, not that he’d run far or get away very quickly in his huge snow suit. As he was toddling along, I was surprised and impressed that he wasn’t interested in the breakable items on the store shelves, but loved the signs hanging from the ceiling, not the he’d have a hope of reaching them, but he was giggling away and running under one, then on to the next and so on.
As he was running along giggling away, not causing any mayhem (trust me he can cause mayhem and this wasn’t) yet the people he passed grinning ear to ear at, responded with frosty glares. Luckily Jack is too young to notice and carries on regardless, unfortunately I notice, I enjoy the odd smile you get in return from strangers as the watch your child chuckling hysterically. But today was different, today there were no friendly glances.
I’m his mother so I’m biased to his cuteness, but how am I supposed to teach my child to enjoy life and that a smile given is a smile returned, if passers by won’t take two seconds to crack a smile, as they say it takes more effort to frown than it does to smile!
So strangers, I beg you, whatever your opinion of children, if an innocent toddler passes you by and thinks you are fascinating enough to beam a smile at, then just take the time, only a moment to smile back at them.
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