Let's Get Real For One Second About What Parenting Is Really Like!

One mom opens up about what it's like to fail as a mother.

I’m failing at parenting- and that’s okay!

Not too long ago, I found myself thinking that there is no way in hell that I want any more kids. It was a particularly hard day of parenting filled out with tantrums, meltdowns, and spas outs- from both my kid and myself. Apart of me felt so overwhelmed and guilty! I felt guilty because I was not meeting my standards of who and what a mother should be. I was frustrated with the fact that my kid was acting like a complete jackass and I am pretty sure it was because I failed to teach him not to be one. I found myself thinking; this is not the way that parenting should be. I allowed myself to wallow in an asinine cloud thought of awful I was.

Here is the thing though; I am not actually an awful mom, or a shitty one, or even a half-assed mom. I am in fact overly concerned about my kid’s upbringing, health, manners, and happiness. I do everything humanely possible to make sure that my child is well taken care of and loved. So why did I feel such disdain? I will tell you why. I have been so caught up with thinking what parenthood is supposed to be like, that I had skewed my own opinion.

Television will have us thinking that we should be Carol Brady, and hating ourselves when we fall short. Carol Brady was a character! She was not real! Carol Brady’s perfection can never be lived up to. In the real world, parenting is hard. There will be days when we break down, cry, and get disappointed. That is okay, we will never be perfect. Children will not always be little angels; hell, they like us also get frustrated and overwhelmed. My child’s melt down is not a reflection of my parenting, but a reaction of a miniature person who has no clue how to handle his emotions, and that’s okay because he is a toddler!

This article is to say that the next time you are berating yourself and thinking that you are the worst parent in the world take a step back and really evaluate your position and situation. Ask yourself these questions:

Did I do everything in my power to gain control of the situation in a productive manner?

Can I control what is happening?

Will the world end because this moment is happening?

Can I salvage this moment or opportunity?

None of us are perfect, and the more that we accept this fact and adjust our attitudes accordingly the more we will be able to see the big picture. You are not a bad parent and your child is not a jackass- unless of course, you are and they are and in that case, I just can’t help you.