“Shh… Please stop always telling me to be quiet because you’ve had a hard day.
You taught me to talk, you taught me to use my words and now you want me to stop.
Shh… Please stop always telling me to sit down.
You helped me to walk, cheered me on as I took my first steps and told everyone how proud you were.
Now you want me to sit still and stop running.
Shh… Please stop always telling me to calm down.
You cooed at every giggle and filled up at every laugh when I was small. What changed?
Doesn’t my smile and my belly laugh make you proud anymore?
Shh… Please stop always telling me to go to sleep.
Remember how you would lie awake and stare at my face for hours on end?
How your heart would race with love when I finally opened my eyes and looked into yours.
What’s wrong now? Am I not as beautiful anymore?
Shh… I am six, I am all that you made me.
I am the baby you taught to talk and walk. I am the baby you laughed at when I made loud screaming noises.
I am the baby you adored no matter how loud I screamed or how long I cried.
I understand that I need rules and boundaries and manners.
I understand that there is a time and a place to be quiet.
I understand that I have to be good most of the time, and I understand that I need my sleep to grow big and strong but please remember that I am just a child.
Constantly telling me to suppress my emotions makes me want to cry.
Don’t you know that I am still that baby? I am still your baby I am just bigger.
~Mother to a wild child.~”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Amy India McInerney of Mother to a wild child from England. The article originally appeared on Facebook. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best love stories.
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