Children and Tears: Which Works on You?

As parents we tend to hear a lot of crying and tend to know the difference between each type. I think it starts from the moment they are born, you know the difference in cries from hunger, fear, hurt, fake, etc. Now the question is when do you normally give in to those tears and screams?

A child is heard screaming and shouting inside the supermarket. You are:
-  A. the person on another aisle whispering to yourself what you’d do.

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-  B.  the person that actually does offer advice.
-  C.  you are the parent of the child screaming and throwing a fit.

A child is heard crying outside. You:
-  A.  Immediately jump up to see if it is your child. 
-  B.  Wait a few more seconds, if it is yours they’ll be right in.
-  C. Pause for a moment to hear if it is your child’s voice.

I’ve heard and seen both of these in the past two weeks and I’ve been at just about all the A-Cs. Yes, one was my child in the store, one was someone else’s child. No, I never did offer help. I think even I’d be upset if someone stepped in when mine was crying. As for the child, no it wasn’t mine but I have learned the voices of my children and their cries. 

So now that you know you aren’t the only one that does it you can smile. Today, though I was at a neighbor’s house and got to hear all the children at the end of the loop and the sounds they make. I must say I learned to tell the difference in a fake cry, as one child was tattling on another. It was over someone taking a ball from him, to a real cry when the same child held someone in a headlock. Yes, I happen to live on THAT street.

As you sit there tonight reading there, your children are probably tucked away in bed, you’ve probably heard at least one of these cries tonight. Which one was it? When is it you give in to a cry and when is it you don’t? My kids have tried the crocodile tears on me and discovered they don’t work.  Course they’ve also discovered the lower lip and a hug normally does. Yep, I’m a sucker.