Previously, I blogged about the DisneyLive! preview disaster at our local library but wanted to go a step further about something I noticed while there. I am a mom to an almost 2 year old who has the attention span of a gnat. When we go places, I fill my diaper bag with items that will keep him occupied if he starts to get too wiggly. Look, I was a girl scout and the motto I live by is “be prepared”. Since the show was 20 minutes late, my efforts paid off. He had crayons, small books, snack crackers, a sippy cup of water, flash cards and other fun stuff (nothing big, bright or loud…just basic simple stuff).
Here’s the problem, his “stuff” drew all kinds of attention. I noticed kids started circling around us. One kid even tried to shove her hand in my bag thinking it was a free for all, so I casually moved the bag. When the Tigger line chaos was going on, one little boy (who was way too cute and newly walking) wobbled over and showed great interest in my son’s crayons. The two of them played together for a little while then suddenly, the kid took off with the crayons. His mom brought them back and apologized but it really wasn’t a big deal. The little guy started to melt down so I gave him a stack of my son’s flash cards to distract his thoughts from the crayons. His mom was very appreciative (and seemed a bit embarrassed) but I know from experience what it’s like to try to change your child’s mind when they want something.
Should I not carry that much fun stuff in my diaper bag? It seemed to me other mothers were not prepared with distractions. I guess they didn’t imagine the preview would be late and then only last for 2 minutes. Or, perhaps most kids aren’t interested in what they have…they always want what the other kid is playing with?