Anyone else's kid have a meltdown and you just... shut down?

Jan 5·1 min read

My 5yo was having a full tantrum at the grocery store and instead of handling it I basically froze and just left her in the cart while I went to get what we needed. Looking back that's probably not great parenting lol. But in the moment I just couldn't. Couldn't deal with the noise, the eyes on us, the chaos. Wife picked her up later and everything was fine but I felt so guilty. Is that a depression thing or am I just a bad parent?

6 comments398 views

Comments(6)

FFrank T.RegularJan 7

That's a really honest thing to admit. I've had that happen where I just disconnect and stop responding to anything. Then I feel guilty for like three hours after.

EEvan M.New DadJan 7

Yeah man, freezing up is more common than you'd think. The grocery store meltdowns are the worst because you feel like everyone's watching. Did you manage to leave or just power through it?

MMax R.RegularJan 6

Does this happen a lot or was it just one rough day? Sometimes we all hit a wall.

NNicholasNew DadJan 7

This might be worth talking to someone about, not to freak you out but because shutdown responses can build up over time. There's nothing wrong with getting some support.

MMike P.RegularJan 8

When my kid was that age I learned that sometimes admitting I was overwhelmed and just asking my partner for backup helped more than pretending I had it under control.

KKevin T.New DadJan 8

The grocery store is legitimately one of the hardest places to handle a meltdown because it's so public. You're not a bad dad for struggling with that moment.