This Dad’s Viral Post on Ignoring His Toddler’s Tantrum in Public Is Everything
As parents, we all eventually deal with a toddler tantrum (or two…hundred) from our children. It’s just part of the way kids grow and learn. They can be hard to handle at times, of course. Sometimes we really just want to whisk our children away from prying eyes. Sometimes it can feel embarrassing. Sometimes we just want to throw ourselves down on the floor as well. But at the end of the day, we should probably just let kids do their thing, right? That’s what one dad’s post about public toddler tantrums is all about , and true me, it gets everything right.
Now, the dad in question isn’t technically just any dad. It’s Justin Baldoni, whom you might recognize as the actor who plays Rafael on Jane the Virgin. Baldoni was shopping at a Whole Foods with his dad and toddler daughter when she apparently decided to have a meltdown in the middle of the store. The photo is of her crying on the floor while Baldoni and his dad both look down at her. Neither of the men look agitated in any way. They’re pretty damn chill about the whole thing, really. And that’s why Baldoni posted the image.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVhssiOllne/?taken-by=justinbaldoni
In the post, Baldoni admits it’s his favorite image of him and his father, who are, as he puts it, “standing together in silence, forever bonded by an unconditional love for both each other and this brand new, raw and pure soul who we would both go to the ends of the earth for.”
You can definitely see that in the image. Baldoni continued:
”I can only imagine how many times I did this when I was her age. My dad taught me so much about what it means to be a man, but this post is about one thing and one thing only. Being comfortable in the uncomfortable. Something I grew him do with me over and over again.”
Baldoni credits his father for teaching him how not to parent “based on what anyone else thinks.” And this is a prime example of that. At a moment when strangers might judge or sneer because their child is being “loud” or what some might feel is “out of control,” Baldoni knows that he just needs to let his daughter get her feelings out.
“I try to remember to make sure my daughter knows it’s OK that she feels deeply. It’s not embarrassing to me when she throw tantrums in the grocery store, or screams on a plane. I’m her dad”¦not yours.”
Truer words, Baldoni. Also worth mentioning that the actor also says he’s working on “redefining masculinity” on his Instagram profile. From this post, it looks like he’s on the right track.
(Image: Instagram / @justinbaldoni)
