To the mama raising a ‘wild child’ like Prince Louis

The royal family recently made headlines at the Platinum Jubilee pageant. We saw news of Megan Markle and Prince Harry reuniting with family. We saw speculation about the health of the Queen. But the member of the Royal Family who really stole the show was Prince Louis.

If you know, you know. 

Maybe you have your own “Prince Louis.” A child who doesn’t sit still. A child who doesn’t just follow directions. A child who marches to a beat of his own drum.

Children like Prince Louis are called lots of things. Wild child. Mischievous. Feral. A high-spirited child. The rebel.

Related: Shaming a child for behavior doesn’t work—here’s what does 

I had my own little “Louis.”

His name wasn’t Louis but he sure did act like Prince Louis at the Platinum Jubilee pageant. I know what it’s like.

I know what it’s like to sweat bullets chasing your little one while the other kids sit still, to have your face turn red from embarrassment at your child’s tantrum, to feel like everyone in the world is staring at you and your child.

I know what it’s like to be the only mom whose child is always on the move and has no tolerance for “circle time” during mommy-and-me classes.

I know what it’s like to want to cry when some stranger mutters under their breath “children should be seen and not heard.”

I know what it’s like to have older generations of parents talk about how children behaved better “back in the day.”

I know what it’s like to panic anytime you’re out in public, silently praying that your little one won’t make a scene. 

I know what it’s like to want to crawl under a rock and hide when they do cause a scene. (Like that time my son tipped over the voting booths at a busy polling place on election day. #TrueStory)

I know what it’s like to feel like you’re doing it wrong, like you’re failing as a parent, like you’re failing your child. 

I know what it’s like to wish your child could be like the other children, and then instantly regretting it because you know that your child’s wild spirit and energetic soul is exactly what you need, what they need, what the world needs. 

I know what it’s like to constantly wonder whether you’re doing right by your child, whether you’re giving them the space to be who they are while also teaching them to respect the world around them. 

I know what it’s like to burst with pride when you’re “wild child” shines, when others see their eager spirit like a sparkling stream of fireworks.

I know what it’s like to sit in little chairs at parent-teacher conferences and cry with relief when a teacher sees your shining star of a child for who they really are. 

I know what it’s like to see that “feral” child grow into who they are meant to be, learning how to move about in the world around them while also holding on to that effervescent individuality that makes them so amazing. 

Related: How to Raise a Confident Kid 

I know what it’s like to worry that this sparkling light of mischief and independence will get them in trouble one day or that, just as worse, this light of theirs will dim. 

And I know what it’s like to feel the raw and unrestricted love of a wild, feral, rambunctious, mischievous little “Louis”. It can only be described as magical.

If you too are a mama raising a child like Prince Louis, you are raising lightening in a bottle. A sparkling star. A wild child who makes the world more entertaining, more colorful, more joyful. 

So wipe your brow, my friend. Ignore the judgments and side-eye comments. And know that you are the parent this child is meant to have. 

Raising a wild child isn’t a burden; it is an absolutely gift. Exhausting and sometimes embarrassing, to be sure, but a gift all the same. 

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