No matter how good you get at calming yourself, being mindful, being positive and working towards harmony and cooperation, there will be moments where you will feel overwhelmed or not sure how to “handle it”.
Our job as parents isn’t to get it right every single time, our job is to be there, trying, getting it, maybe failing and yet totally willing to try again.
Rewinding after a bad moment is possible.
Letting go of perfection is helpful.
Try to quiet the worry and the guilt. These don’t help us move forward.
Try to take a moment for yourself, breathe in and out. It’s not selfish to care for yourself.
Try to focus on what will truly matter in the long run.
Try to forgive yourself, chances are your child already did way before you.
Try to imagine what a kind, compassionate exchange would be like.
Try again.
Don’t let a bad parenting moment make you feel like you are a bad parent. It’s impossible to get through your parenting journey without making mistakes. Impossible because we are not perfect and neither are our children. Try to pause and remember that if you can actually recognize a bad moment, a bad decision or how you could/should/would have done things differently, then you have already taken the most important step towards making it better next time.
Peace & Be Well,
Ariadne
Ariadne Brill
Wonderful message you’ve sent with this article. As a new step father I constantly feel as if I make mistake after mistake, but we learn from mistakes.
The way we’re raised teachs us to avoid and fear failure even if we can grow more from failure then success.
I think you were spot on with this article 🙂
Thanks Shawn for your feedback. I agree if we are open to learning from our mistakes then they serve us well as a means to move forward in a better direction.
Wow, such powerful words and images! Parenthood and life in general is a progress of cycles and growth. Everything happens more slowly than we would like it to but it happens as we continue to be gentle with ourselves and others and reapply ourselves to the process. Thanks for your beautiful words of wisdom.
It’s so easy to forget such a simple thing – I am guilty often. Thanks for the reminder.
I totally agree that parenthood is a process and sometimes things move along ever so slowly…and then we blink and the next phase is already there! Thank you for your kind words.
It is easy to forget you are so right! Thank you for stopping by.
Great post, I love the overall message! Our son’s almost eight months odl and I feel that I’m still learning about this whole parenting thing!
Jonathan, thank you so much, I hope you enjoy your parenting journey!
It’s going to take time to get a hang on parenting, trust me. When I became a step father it was my first time being a parent of any kind, and let me tell you it hasn’t been easy, but stick in there because they’re quickly become your world.
Kids certainly are magical aren’t they.