Parenthood
Picture Of Calm Dad And Grandpa With Crying Toddler Goes Viral
This Dad and grandpa photo holds a universal parenting lesson.
Kathleen Shipman
10.21.20

Little kids aren’t always balls of sunshine, even when they’re out in public. We’re talking about temper tantrums.

Many parents are terrified by the idea of their child having a tantrum in a store, at a restaurant, or anywhere else there are strangers – because frankly, people can be judgemental. So a lot of moms and dads pack a bag of distractions (food, toys, technology), and have an escape route if their toddler were to throw a fit.

Facebook/Justin Baldoni
Source:
Facebook/Justin Baldoni

There’s one actor who doesn’t get embarrassed when his daughter has a meltdown in public.

Justin Baldoni is a filmmaker, director, and known for playing the role of Rafael Solano in Jane the Virgin. He’s also the devoted father of two.

Back when Baldoni’s daughter, Maiya, was two-years-old, he experienced a very memorable shopping trip with her at Whole Foods. It was one of the times that she threw a tantrum.

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A post shared by Justin Baldoni (@justinbaldoni) on

Baldoni’s dad and his (then pregnant) wife, Emily, were also part of the grocery store outing.

At one point, little Maiya became very upset. So upset, in fact, that she had a tantrum on the floor. But instead of picking her up and heading for the hills – Baldoni and his dad simply stood there and watched.

Emily snapped a photo of the father and son standing over Maiya, both with slight smiles on their faces. According to the actor, it’s one of his “favorite photos” of him and his dad.

Facebook/Justin Baldoni
Source:
Facebook/Justin Baldoni

Baldoni decided to share the photo on social media, and also an explanation of why he’s not bothered during these types of events.

He starts out:

“I tried to stay off social media yesterday to connect with my family without distraction so I’m posting this today. Emily took this in Whole Foods. It’s now one of my favorite photos ever of me and my dad. Two men, standing together in silence, forever bonded by an unconditional love for both each other and this brand new, raw and pure soul who we would both go to the ends of the earth for.”

Facebook/Justin Baldoni
Source:
Facebook/Justin Baldoni

It’s something he learned from his dad.

Baldoni’s post continues:

“I can only imagine how many times I did this when I was her age. My dad taught me so much about what it means to be a man, but this post is about one thing and one thing only. Being comfortable in the uncomfortable. Something I grew up watching him do with me over and over again. There are no perfect parents, but one thing my dad taught me is to not parent based on what anyone else thinks.”

Pixabay/Myriam Zilles
Source:
Pixabay/Myriam Zilles

He’s now practicing it with his own kids.

“My dad always let me feel what I needed to feel, even if it was in public and embarrassing. I don’t remember him ever saying “You’re embarrassing me!” or “Dont cry!” It wasn’t until recently that I realized how paramount that was for my own emotional development. Our children are learning and processing so much information and they don’t know what to do with all of these new feelings that come up. I try to remember to make sure my daughter knows it’s OK that she feels deeply. It’s not embarrassing to me when she throw tantrums in the grocery store, or screams on a plane. I’m her dad…not yours.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Justin Baldoni (@justinbaldoni) on

It’s common for a parent to be humiliated when their child has a meltdown in public. Yet, Baldoni explains why they shouldn’t feel that way.

He wrote:

“Let’s not be embarrassed for our children. It doesn’t reflect on you. In fact.. we should probably be a little more kind and patient with ourselves too. If we got out everything we were feeling and allowed ourselves to throw tantrums and cry when we felt the need to then maybe we’d could also let ourselves feel more joy and happiness. And that is something this world could definitely use a little more of.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Justin Baldoni (@justinbaldoni) on

The actor’s inspiring post has been shared more than 48K times on Facebook alone.

People have left various comments expressing their feelings on the subject.

“I love this. Thank you. I am one of those parents who worries about others when out with my kids. This post is a learning moment for me. This shows me I’m not alone….”

Another person wrote:

“What amazes me is a kid makes a bit of noise in a public place and some adults just freak out. So what, kids make noise, get over it.”

Someone else said:

“I guess it depends on why she’s having the tantrum. If she’s overwhelmed, okay. If she’s upset because she’s not getting her way, nope, not happening…”

I tried to stay off social media yesterday to connect with my family without distraction so I'm posting this today….

Posted by Justin Baldoni onMonday, June 19, 2017

Parenting might not be easy, but we all certainly do the best we can!

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