Before I had children, I was the perfect Mom.
Yes, you read that correctly. I said BEFORE. You might think that sounds backwards. Let me explain…
Before I became a mom, I was really good at observing parents. I saw what they should or should not do with their children and I knew I would do better one day.
I wouldn’t let my child play on a device unsupervised.
I wouldn’t cosleep.
My child would listen to me.
I would never leave my kids in the car at the gas station or post office.
My child would play outside as much as possible.
I would monitor the TV shows my child watches.
My child would never back talk.
You can imagine my surprise when I started to parent my daughter and I wasn’t the perfect mom that I thought I would be.
She started to form an opinion. She learned my weaknesses. This little person managed to turn me into a hypocrite. I do a lot of parenting “no nos” that I swore I would never do.
Lately, I’ve seen a lot of mom shaming. Come on, you’ve seen it too. I know I’m even guilty of being a mom shamer myself! While I was pregnant with my twins, I was tired. Exhausted, really. The tablet became my go to for my daughter so I could take a nap. Am I proud of the fact that some days she spent hours on a tablet or watching TV? No. In fact, I swore I’d never be “that” mom. There I was, sleeping, while my toddler played games that – get this – were not all educational! Gasp! I realized after my “bad mom” moments that there is no such thing as a perfect mom.
We all have moments when we feel like “Mom of the Year” and we all have moments when we feel like we could not do any worse at parenting if we tried.
Before I became a mom, I knew that I would have all of the right answers. I would do it all perfectly. Now? Now I know that I am doing my best and that there is not always a right answer.
Moms, hold your head up high and parent with confidence… even when you aren’t sure you’re making the right decisions. If you let your kids jump on the bed, own it! If you hover like it’s your job, have no shame! You have the toughest job around, and no one can mom your babies quite like you do.
