The myth of a runaway toddler

Every person has seen a runaway toddler at a store or restaurant. If you only have an infant or don't have kids at all, then most people look at them & say "My kids will not run around like that." I know because I've said it too.

Now don't get me wrong. I knew I would deal with the screaming toddler in a shopping cart one day; but I was under the illusion that you could keep your toddler in a stroller without them raising heck. As I & every other parent have discovered, that is not the case. It couldn't be further from the truth. Once toddlers are walking, talking & being their own person, it's hard to contain them from doing something they want to do without disturbing the peace. LOL Since then, I've come to believe that toddlers are quicker than the speed of light. It only takes a second for them to stand up & run down the aisle way from you.

So there we were at storytime today at a local bookstore where my son actually sat down, listened to the story & then played with the train for an hour or so. When it came time to leave, it was not pretty. After resisting the stroller, I said he could hold my hand. When I was looking at books, my son started a little struggle & then sat down. Then quick as a flash, he stood up & ran down the aisle. I told him to stop. To which he responded by turning around, smiling & then running away in the opposite direction. A minute later I was chasing after him through the bookstore aisles with a stroller while he was laughing & having a good time running away. Once I got him, he knew he was in trouble. He said sorry, got into the stroller easily & put his fingers in his mouth. He was tired & that was it. Once we got home, he fell asleep in his car seat before we even got into the house.

So my point in all of this, you can think & say you'll never have a runaway toddler. I'm sorry to inform you though that all toddlers run away from you at some point. Why? Because it's fun for them & they're still learning. So try & be patient when it happens, because it will happen to you.