Tantrums for Mommy

 Before I go any further, let me say that here at the Sentinel, reporters try to stay out of each other's way.

We have our own beats, and if they should overlap, we talk to the other reporter before running with it. Our blogs are the same, we have our own style, topics, etc.

But this weekend, our blogs collided. Please refer to Jennifer Brookens' past blog, "Rage against the pants." Go ahead, I'll wait. 

Okay, so you see that Jennifer has a little problem with her boy-child - he doesn't like to wear his pants and throws a fit when she tries to get them dressed.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to babysit her two little ones. And I was brought to tears. Not because they were misbehaved - no, they were angels. It was a fit of the giggles, when, after changing the boy-child's diaper and momentarily leaving his pants off while I dealt with the diaper, he bends down and pulls his own pants on. Leg by leg, without complaint, all the while singing a happy little tune.

It brings to mind something each parent should be told right after their little bundle of joy is born — they will invariably reserve their worst behavior for the ones they love — namely, their parents.

This most often comes up in the discussions of working parents, who, after working a long, hard day, pick up their children from day care, whose attendants say little Johnny is perfectly behaved, only to find he is a terror on two legs when they bring them home. Often feeling guilty about being at work in the first place, parents can jump to the assumption that their child doesn't like them or isn't happy at home. It turns out that is not the case at all. 

Psychologist say this tendency is completely normal, and should be expected. 

Although it isn't pleasant to experience first-hand, I have to say, the fact that Jennifer's child happily puts on his pants when she is not around, is actually his way of saying he loves his mommy.