Mosquito Effectiveness

Jason Fried loves this quote (though he didn't originate it): 'If you think you're too small to be effective, you've never been in bed with a mosquito.'

Any parent who has watched a single 25-pound human bring an entire family's plans crashing down knows exactly what this means. Your toddler is one person. You are two adults. You have decades more experience, vastly more physical strength, and control of all the resources. And yet.

And yet they can refuse to get in the car seat. They can melt down in the grocery store. They can make a restaurant impossible. They can turn bedtime into a two-hour negotiation.

It works the other way too. A small person can fill an enormous room with joy. One child's excitement can transform a boring errand into an adventure. A single act of sweetness can redeem an entire difficult day.

Small doesn't mean ineffective. Your kid is proof.