Jessica Lemire was taking her son Sam home from their "mommy and me" class when he took a spill in the parking lot.
She immediately checked to see if he was OK, then showered him with some hugs, kisses, and a bit of milk to make him feel better. He has a pretty good-size bump on his head, but that's nothing that time and some comfort from Mom won't heal.
Being the busy mom that she is, Lemire took her son into her local grocery store to pick up a few items. When she got to the checkout, the cashier noticed the mark on Sam's head.
The stranger told Lemire something that really unsettled her. She was trying to tell her how to be a mother in a way that simply didn't sound right to her at all.
When she got home, she posted a photo of Sam's minor injury on Facebook, along with her experience at the store.
Along with this photo of Sam after he'd been comforted, she wrote the following message:
"This morning after Baby Garden, Sam fell in the parking lot and hit his head. It looks gnarly and while he was upset, a hug, some kisses, and a little milk made it better quickly.
"Shortly afterwards we went into Trader Joe's to pick up a few groceries. The woman at the checkout counter commented on Sam's head and proceeded to tell me she hoped I'd ignored him when he fell so I could 'toughen him up.'"
She goes on to say the following below…
"No, I told her, I didn't. I won't ignore my son's cries – injured or not. What sort of world do we live in where we are supposed to let the smallest and most vulnerable among us, the ones that need us the most, that trust us without fail, to struggle alone?"
"If he were an adult that had fallen and hit his head, would others not rush to help? To make sure he is okay? Why would we offer anything different to our children?
"I refuse to believe that this 'toughens them up.' All it does is break their trust and wound their spirits."
Lemire signs off from the post saying that, "I will always comes to you when you need me, Sam. No matter what."
Friends of Lemire and her family have come to her support.
"That makes me physically sick," someone commented. "Hearing any baby cry, no matter how old, breaks my heart. It is my thought that it is our biological imperative to comfort our babies when they are sad or hurt. Our society and culture has made it okay to ignore our babies NEEDS, crying is a sign of distress and should never, ever be ignored."
While little Sam hardly notices his bump anymore, his mother stands strong on her stance on what happened at the grocery store. She loves her son with all her heart, and will do everything in her power to make sure that he is OK at all times. Yes, life will throw unpleasant things in his path, but she will be there to be his mother whenever he needs her, and that is the sign of a very strong woman and mother.
What do you think you would do if you were in this mother's situation? Would you let him cry after falling in the parking lot? If I had a child, I'd never let a bump on the head go unnoticed.
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