There’s a particular kind of ache that comes with reading the right poem at the right moment — usually while you’re holding a small, sleepy head against your shoulder and thinking about how long it’s been since they last needed carrying. “I Won’t Always Cry Mummy” by Stephanie Turner is one of those poems. It’s short, it’s simple, and it will absolutely get you if you’re a parent of a young child (tissues recommended).
The poem captures all the small, exhausting, wonderful things about parenting a toddler or young child — the supermarket tantrums, the night wake-ups, the chocolate-smeared face you wipe for the hundredth time — and gently reminds us that none of it lasts forever.
The Poem
I won’t always cry, Mummy,
When you leave the room,
And my supermarket tantrums,
Will end too soon.
I won’t always wake Daddy
For cuddles through the night
And one day you will miss
Having a chocolate face to wipe.
You won’t always wake to find my foot
Is kicking you out of bed
Or find me sideways on your pillow
Where you want to lay your head
You won’t always have to carry me
In asleep from the car,
Or piggy back me down the road,
When my little legs can’t walk that far.
So cherish every cuddle,
remember them all
One day Mummy
I won’t be this small
~ Stephanie Turner
Why This Poem Resonates With Parents
Anyone who has spent a night getting kicked out of bed by a tiny foot, or carried a sleeping child in from the car with aching arms, knows exactly the feeling this poem describes. It’s easy to focus on the tiredness in the middle of it — the tantrums, the disrupted sleep, the sticky hands — and forget that these stages are fleeting. Reading a poem like this is a small nudge to notice the good bits too, even on the hard days.
It’s the kind of poem worth saving, sharing with a partner, or reading again on one of those days when everything feels relentless. Sometimes it helps just to be reminded that the tiny, demanding, wonderful person in front of you won’t be this small for very long.
Related Reading
If this poem struck a chord, you might also like:
- The Last Time Poem — another gentle reminder about the milestones we don’t always notice until they’ve passed.
- Our Children Will Be Gone in a Blink — a favourite parenting quote on just how fast it all goes.
Save This for Later
Not ready to say goodbye to this one? Bookmark or save this page so you can come back to it on a day when you need the reminder — or share it with another parent who could use a good cry (the happy kind).
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