Crying For Bumblebee 

Recently when I saw the trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts it brought me back to when I was a kid. I really enjoyed the animated series and movie from the 80’s. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are two of my favorite Transformers. I tell you this because Bumblebee made me cry for a different reason then when Optimus Prime died in the Transformers movie. It happened when my family and I moved from Buffalo, New York to Naperville, Illinois. There was an incident at a store that had me crying for a Bumblebee toy. On the surface, it might sound like it was just because I didn’t a toy I wanted. Yet thinking about that moment now I realize that the tears and sadness had more meaning than just me not getting my way. 

More Than Just The Bumblebee Toy

We moved from New York to Illinois in the summer between my time in the first and second grade. At that time, we were staying in a hotel for a few weeks before we could move into our house. We had a few of our personal things with us. The rest was packed away in a moving truck. I was about seven years old and nervous with this move. I was already missing my friends and my home back in Buffalo. One day my dad and I went to the local pharmacy to pick a few things for our family. I went to the toy section and saw the Bumblebee toy. Seeing him made me so excited since I was always looking for him in Buffalo, but never found him. 

I asked my dad it we could get it and he said no. I started crying a little bit in the store. I didn’t make a huge scene. Well that changed when we got home. We get back to the hotel room and I was crying a lot. I went into a closet and cried and cried. My parents and sisters were not happy with me carrying on like that. As I mentioned earlier, it might have looked like I was just a spoiled kid who didn’t get his way. After a few minutes of sitting in the closet and calming down, my mom asked me what was really going on. I just said I really wanted Bumblebee since we were always looking for that one toy back home. 

Emotions That Are More Than Meets The Eye

My mom realized that maybe this one toy that I was clamoring about could be something more than just a toy. We went back to the store and got it. I was so happy. Now as a parent I realize that sometimes your kid can get emotional for many different reasons. A meltdown can happen when kids are trying to deal with something hard like moving to a different part of the country. It might be hard to communicate all the feelings and emotions they are trying to process. In addition, when kids are young they might feel like a toy, a blanket or a book can comfort them when they are sad or upset. As parents we might need to realize when our kids act up in an unusual manner, no matter the age, we need to find out the root cause. I would suggest that you take time to sit down with your child and ask them to share what is on their mind. 

Yes, there are times when a kid is crying or yelling because they don’t get their way. On the flip side, if your family or child have experienced something that is very foreign to them, you need to see how you can help them deal with it. Listening is one of the best ways to solve the riddle of what is causing your child to act up. This is helps both the child and the parent. The child learns how to better communicate. The parent learns that their child will handle things differently from time to time. You will grow as a person and a parent. That is something that will benefit you and your kids. Hopefully they will see your actions and repeat them when they are a parent. All of that can potentially lead us to have healthy transformations as we go through life.