You Are A Good Parent!

I am the Mom to an amazing six year old son. He is my World! Becoming a Mom was one of the best things to happen to me!  He is a pretty well-behaved kid. That being said:

• Sometimes, he pushes my buttons and I raise my voice
• I am sometimes so tired that we do not do our nightly reading
• I sometimes let him have much more screen time than what is recommended
• Sometimes I bribe him to avoid a fight when trying to get him to do something
• Sometimes I have an annoyed tone when he asks me something
• Sometimes I just need some me time
• Sometimes I feed him junk or fast food because I am too tired to cook
• Sometimes I stay in the bathroom longer than I need to, to be alone
• Sometimes I let my kid cry it out
• Sometimes I put him to bed early so I can catch up on my shows

I am sure that most of us ae guilty of these things. Then there are what we all call the parent fails that many parents, myself included are guilty of:

• Picked my child up after the daycare closed (that is an expensive mistake)
• Forgot the diaper bag and ended up having to go buy him new clothes when he had a blowout I could not clean up
• Forgot snacks even though I knew we were in the car for a long ride
• Put on two different socks
• Cussed in front of him and he decided that was his new favorite word
• Got called out by the school for my potty mouth

We are all human and to Err is human. No one is perfect. Being a parent is so wonderful. There are many exciting phases and watching them grow goes rapidly and is a blessing. It is also tiring. You never sleep the same, even when they sleep. Many times, we are juggling work, school and various activities. We beat ourselves up when we allow them too much screen time, or don’t read with them or forget to have them brush their teeth twice daily.  None of these make us bad parents.

Sometimes I have a potty mouth and words just fly out that shouldn’t. Kids are sponges who hear everything. I guess I had not realized that he had heard my liberal use the F-word, until we were at a stop light behind a truck and my son who was two at that time starting very loudly saying “move F’ing truck over and over again!

Another fun story happened when my husband was changing him and accidentally allowed him to roll off the bed. Being first time parents, we panicked and rushed him to the Doctor to make sure we did not cause any irreparable damage. The doctor came in and very casually said, “so you fumbled the football?” needless to say, he was just fine.

Give yourself a break. It is ok and important to have “me” time. It is ok to be tired and frustrated. Having kids is the most difficult and rewarding job you will have. You will make lots of mistakes along the way, because as my Mom always says, “kids don’t come with instructions”.  Make sure your kids know they are loved and allow yourself to be imperfect. They love you, even if you make mistakes.