I used to think such websites as “Reasons My Son Is Crying,” were mean-spirited, exploitative and harmful. These were innocent children being used as fodder for our amusement. Just shameless click-bait perpetuated by cruel parents. Surely, there was more to the reasons being presented for their meltdowns. If these kids were truly loved and cared for properly, they wouldn’t have tantrums. No child could possibly be that upset because there were too many green sprinkles on his ice cream cone.

Now that I have weathered the terrible twos and am in the throes of the “threenager” days, I get it. I still have some issues with laughing at our kids’ expense (though, I am certainly guilty of it). But, there is a bigger need for these sites that goes beyond the chuckles they ensue. They offer proof of something parents have been saying for years.

Sometimes, kids just get mad.

They aren’t tired, or hungry, or eating too many processed foods (though, I won’t argue those could very well be the causes). They are little people learning how to process their emotions. They don’t know that being served food cut the wrong way, or having to stop at a red light are ridiculous things to get upset about. They act like the world is ending, because, in their minds, it is.

Sure, he’s all smiles now. 

All of these are real causes of epic, blood-curdling screaming meltdowns from my oldest:

I put pillowcases on pillows.

I walked up the wrong side of the stairs.

I stopped at a tollbooth.

I turned the page of a book.

I’d love to hear the “experts” explain to me how I could I have prevented my son from freaking out over these things. The answer is, they can’t. Yes, there are things you can do (such as giving a warning before it’s time to leave the playground, h/t Daniel Tiger, making sure he gets plenty of rest, establishing a routine, etc.), but more often than not you will have no control over your kid’s anger.

And, that’s okay.

Sometimes, kids just get mad.