… I Judged You! 👩🏼⚖️
Nov 12, 2025
I used to judge Youngest children. And their parents. BIG TIME.
Honestly, I did.
I’d be at a wedding, watching a five-year-old twirling under the tablecloth and think, Who brings a five-year-old to a wedding?! OR Isn’t someone going to tell them they’re too old to walk around like that? OR Seriously- another temper tantrum? Isn’t he way too old for that?
And then I had a Youngest.
And I learned a lot, while I needed to eat a little bit of humble pie.
For example: (I’m explaining (ie, defending ourselves) to Young Moms!) Leaving Youngests home at night means coordinating babysitters, convincing a studious teenager to stay home to babysit, managing a guilt trip that you are leaving AGAIN, and finding someone at home who will remember and commit to putting them to sleep in a “motherly” way… while everyone says they did it last time so it’s someone else’s turn.
So…….. we take them!
And yeah, we let them walk around like that, honestly- we think it’s cute! We don’t really make a big deal out of the little-ISH things… anymore.
And, with our Youngests we’ve already learned by then! Ride the tantrum out. It will end soon! … and they’ll be back for cuddles 
. It’s all g! (as the older ones say)
———
Youngest children are born into homes where “innocence” is already a luxury.
They sit at the table while we discuss if he is really a 3-5 year learner or 7-10 year, (despite what his mother thinks), doctor appointments and knee replacements, world wars, hocking in all sorts of learning, the latest tragedies — the list goes on and on.
When our Oldests were six, they were tucked into bed by 6:30. Done for the night. Whew. 
When our Youngest is six, they’re sitting in the kitchen at 10 p.m. waiting to hear how the date went or going with Parent to pick up another sibling.
Oops. We forgot to put them to sleep. Again!!!!
Somehow, we never forgot to put our Oldests to sleep.
They hear too much. They see too much.
And somehow, they still love putting on plays for the fam, dancing to the latest songs and doing gymnastics in front of everyone and anyone - with no care in the world. LOVE THEM.
Their little cute face and heaven laugh reminds us of what joy looks like before. anything. got. more. complicated. Even if they throw their clothing right outside the hamper or they don’t make their bed. Everrr.
So, instead of us (and all the Olders in the house— who think it’s their job to help parent these mostly adorable, sometimes less adorable Youngests) — judging them for their temper tantrums and lack of responsibility in the home, the Fam should see Youngests as a living reminder of what we used to know — how to laugh easily, forgive quickly, and give out free hugs “just because.”
So yes, they’re hard to leave at night.
Because they pull at something soft and nostalgic in us that we desperately want to hold onto.
And maybe that’s why the youngest holds such a special place in every family’s system — because while the rest of us are overthinking and worrying, they’re dancing in the kitchen.
And maybe that’s the real reason we hold them tight and are OK bringing them along to weddings. 
, Shifi
