I am a crier. Being in control of my tear ducts is not one of my 
strengths. Although this was not helped by pregnancy hormones, I was a crier long before I was pregnant and I still am.
I don’t just cry when I am sad. I’ve also been known to cry when I’m angry. This was confusing for my friends as a child. I nearly backhanded more than one poor girl who tried to comfort me while I was furious.
But that’s not all. I cry when I’m worn out and stressed too. Often pretty easily. This has sometimes very awkward. I have made many doctors (and 1 dentist) feel confused and perhaps even a little uncomfortable when they have just told me I am fine. And probably just have a viral infection or I need some antibiotics (with the dentist I had a cavity). At any rate I was given information that is completely minor in severity and I am reduced to tears.
I even cried in the front row of a 10 person University class with a disproportionately high workload when we were unable to persuade the professor that we needed an extension for our 30 page paper because it would throw off his schedule. Looking at this, you might think that I cry all the time. And although that is not actually true I do end up crying in front of my son and my handicapped brother more often than I would really like.
I actually think that it’s good for kids to see their parents have emotions and deal with them. I just wish my son didn’t have to have this valuable learning experience quite so often.
Because of my brother I’ve had to deal with this issue for a long time. It causes him distress to see anyone, but especially me, upset. So I am well practiced in the art of crying while assuring someone else that everything is still okay.
Usually what I say is “I’m feeling sad. It’s okay to feel sad sometimes. But I’m okay. I’m just feeling sad right now.” If I can explain why, then try to do that too, but that’s not always easy.
I’d love to know about some other strategies that I could use. What do you do when you cry in front of your kids?
I’m not much of a crier but having a child is starting to change that. I think crying in front of your child is better than dealing with certain situations by pulling out the sarcasm and being me (which, sadly, is what I am guilty of). However, my 3-year old seems to be a crier. She cries over EVERYTHING and as a non crier that is hard for me to handle – maybe you have suggestions for how a non-crier can deal with a crier? : )
@melanie
actually I do have one suggestion. Don’t assume that she can stop crying and is just choosing not to. You can tell her that you can’t understand her or you can’t talk until she finishes crying but she may not be able to stop even if she wants to.
I’m a crier too…I even cry when I’m really happy. Talk about confusing 😉 If I do cry in front of my kids, they become very concerned and I do like you do, tell them that mommy is sad and I just need to let out my sadness with crying.
I’m weird. Sometimes I cry and sometimes I don’t…I think it’s based a lot on hormones and sleep. I’ve been known to cry when I’m angry too and it’s so annoying!