Allowing myself to “Ugly Cry” with my Child

Most days I’m fine. Most days I keep myself together. I do what I need to do, I am where I need to be and I say what I need to say as a special needs mom.

But not today. Today when my daughter had a rough time (emotionally) during her physiotherapy session, I ugly cried with her, listened to her say that she just can’t handle Spina Bifida today and we left the session early. And it’s ok.

𝘗𝘚: “𝘜𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘳𝘺” 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 “𝘢 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

Why it’s good to share your emotions with your child:

• When you cry with your child, it shows them that it’s okay to express their emotions too.
• They might feel like they’re the only ones struggling with their disability, but seeing you cry with them can make them feel less alone.
• It can also help them learn how to cope with their emotions in a healthy way.
• By being open with your emotions, you’re also building a stronger bond with your child. They’ll feel like they can come to you with anything, and they’ll know that you understand what they’re going through.
• This can help them feel more secure and loved, which is especially important for children with special needs who might already feel isolated.

It’s important to remember that you don’t have to be perfect all the time. You’re allowed to have bad days and show your emotions. It’s all part of being human, and it can actually make you a better parent in the long run. Just make sure to keep it within limits, of course!

So don’t be afraid to cry with your child or show your emotions – it might be just what you both need.

Sometimes, to be 𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑑 as a special needs mom means that you need to allow yourself to go through the different emotions you feel, to be vulnerable. It means that today you show your child with special needs or a disability that it’s okay to sometimes not feel ok – as long as you look up, dress up, and show up again tomorrow, and never give up!

We’ll show up again tomorrow xx