Dear mum,

You, yes you. The one whose toddler is having a full blown meltdown on the supermarket floor. The one that is screaming he hates being there and you are a horrible mummy. The one that is on the brink of tears and is worried that everyone is judging you. The one that drops everything and leaves the store just to stop the tantrums with your head hung low.

Please breathe. Take a second to see the situation from the outside. We've all been there. Well not all of us, but most of us. You may think that you are alone but in reality you are far from it. That toddler you see in front of you screaming obscenities is doing the same thing mine did only a few days ago.

He's not screaming because he hates you, far from it. You are the most important person to him. He is screaming because he is frustrated, frustrated because he is tired, cranky and let's face it, he's in a supermarket when there are so many other places to be. How many of us actually want to be there. If it was acceptable for an adult to throw themselves on the floor in disgust then most of us wouldn't even give it a second thought.

You aren't a horrible mummy. Well maybe taking him shopping isn't the nicest thing in his books but without shopping you won't have food or drink, and he would be screaming even louder then. You are a mum that cares, one that loves their child and wants to provide everything for them. You are doing the right thing and this is just a blip in the system of life.

Sometimes it's good to cry, sometimes it's good to sit in a closed room and let it all out. When your emotions get tangled with theirs it's hard to pick them apart. It's like you're spraying the knots out of tangled hair and working them back where they should be.

Take a deep breath. No one is judging you. And if they are then they obviously haven't had a child or theirs is so perfect it doesn't even matter. Being a parent is tough. It's bloody tough. You spend your life caring for this small ball of energy and emotion that is more erratic than any of us can be. This little ball needs nurturing, it needs you to help guide it along the paths of it's future. It's a bit of a bumpy path and this is just another one of those bits of turbulence.

But mum in the supermarket, please don't go. Please don't keep it all inside. You are not alone, mums of all shapes, sizes and experience have dealt with it too. I'm rooting for you, you can do it. If my child has forgiven me for the horrible experience of the supermarket then yours will too. It won't last forever and he won't remember it forever either.

From, that mum who had the same thing happen to them last week.