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It’s Official, the Tot is a runner!

Tantrum TotI think I have finally come to the place where I can’t take the Tantrum Tot (2) out in public alone, at least not for a while.  I am getting tired very quickly with this latest pregnancy and am having trouble holding him while trying to get anything else accomplished.

Hubby and I took a trip to the mall, just the two of us and the Tot today, leaving the two older boys at home. The Tot was happy for a while because we were riding the “choochoo,” a children train that rides around the mall, one that you can hire out for parties or events.  The Tot loves choo choo’s these days so he was a happy camper.

The problem began when we were through with the choo choo and he decided it was time to “let’s go go” and took off running ahead of us through the mall.  Hubby was able to keep up (sort of) as I waddled more slowly behind.  At this point all I wanted to accomplish was buying some flip-flops for the older boys at Old Navy. Not possible–not without splitting up.

Hubby took the Tot into Barnes and Nobles to (if you guessed play with the choo choo’s you would be correct), while I went into Old Navy.  While standing in a long line with an arm full of flip-flops it hit me.  There was no way in the world I would have been able to stand in line, take out my wallet, and then purchase my items had Hubby not taken the Tot to the bookstore.

The second I let go of him HE RUNS. If I take my hand off him to pull out my wallet he starts running like a madman in the opposite direction of anywhere I need him to be.  I have had to run off of many lines after him, only to attempt to get back in line again.  Most days items get left behind while I pick him up like a football under my arm and wrestle him back to the van.  All the while I might add he is kicking me and screaming like I am pulling out a rib.

My oldest would hide from me in the stores when he was little and cause me to meltdown and have panic attacks, my 8 year old, however, was also a runner–but not THIS BAD!

Now the house is all quiet, I am still tired from trip to the mall that occurred more than 8 hours ago, AND I am not sleeping because without my Melatonin (no Melatonin while I’m pregnant) I cannot sleep!  The insomnia is back–where the hell is my Calgon?

Jeannie Davide-Rivera

Jeannie is an award-winning author, the Answers.com Autism Category Expert, contributes to Autism Parenting Magazine, and the Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. She lives in New York with her husband and four sons, on the autism spectrum.

3 Comments:

  1. From experience, those backpack pal leashes are amazing. Or any leash for that matter. I don’t know how you feel about them but we used one with out son. Our thought is better safe than gone. Because things happen so quickly.

    I rember wearing a leash as a child as well. I can’t tell you how safe it made me feel. So if a kids perspective helps… There you have it. 😉

    • I’ve had so many people snicker, make faces, and actually comment about my using them, but I don’t care. It is not their toddler dashing out into traffic it is mine!

      Then of course you get the whole, “you need to keep control of you child” speel, which makes me want to be violent. LOL

      • exactly! i have many times used the phrase “better leashed than abducted” or “better safe than gone”. my parents used them on us when we went places like vermilion falls, which is a waterfall in a deep steep gorge. it can be pretty dangerous. again i say, i felt really safe knowing my parents had ahold of me! i dont really recall them using it in public that often (the waterfall is in the BOONIES of the boonies) but im going to guess they probably did when i was younger.

        my son loved his too. though he rarely puts on the pack anymore, he uses the leash part as a cat tail. LOL

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