So on one occasion we decided to watch The Mask 2 for movie night. My children sat there in stunned silence as the mask baby cried his little eyes out. They had their mouths open in pure shock, they have the hardest time when other children cry. They are extremely sensitive to their surroundings and I swear they seem to die a little inside out of helplessness.
They don't understand temper tantrums they only understand getting hurt, so if I am at the grocery store and a child cries they look at me and tell me to help. When I tell them I can't go comfort another person's child they hold a grudge the entire shopping trip and give me the cold shoulder. They are convinced the baby/child's fingers must have got pinched in the grocery cart safety belt.
It is frustrating but so far even if I try to explain that the child is tired or hungry they would still hold a grudge because I didn't offer to hold or share a treat to make the child feel better. How do you possibly help a strangers child when they are throwing a tantrum without invading their privacy? My children don't understand this dilemma yet :( At least they are empathetic and compassionate. They never get jealous of me holding someone's baby. So there are major pros and tiny cons to dealing with the complexity of my children's minds.
