My son was a difficult toddler. He was super strong-willed, and very aggressive and physical when he didn’t get his way. He really gave me a crash course in motherhood! When he was little, I felt like I was doing everything wrong. I didn’t think any of the discipline techniques I was using were working for him. (But now he seems to be a well-adjusted 7-year-old, so I must have not screwed up too much! Lol! Seriously though, I’m SO proud of him these days.)

When he was going through that stage, I did so much research on discipline, behavior, and how to handle strong-willed, aggressive kids. I read books, talked to other moms, got advice from our pediatrician, and scoured Pinterest for tips. But there were a few things I picked up along the way that really helped me as far as how I handled my son’s aggression in public. Because it’s one thing to deal with an aggressive child all day at home, but it’s a whole different story when you’re out in public under other people’s judging eyes! It took me a loooong time to be able to ignore the dirty looks and the rude comments about my child’s behavior. The people with the strongest opinions about how I should have been handling him really thought they knew what was best. But I was his mama. I was with him all day. And I choose to follow my mother’s intuition and instinct. I eventually figured out what worked and what didn’t.

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