I’m Not A Bad Mum
I wake up most days raring to go.
I’m excited. I’m ready. Give me coffee and I can do anything.
“Today will be a great day” I say to myself as I prepare for my kids to wake up and come out.
And then they do just that: they wake up and come out.
Within 30 seconds I can feel my heart starting to race: I’m about to yell. It’s only been 30 seconds, surely not Maria. Surely you don’t need to yell or even raise your voice so early in the morning. But I do …
Because kids are kids. They’re here to test us, to push us to our limits. They’re here to remind us we have no control …
Every day I struggle, but in no way does it make me a bad parent. I am not a bad Mum. I’m simply just struggling to deal with children, because I’m an adult and have forgotten what it’s light.
Here are some of the things I do that make me feel like a bad mum, even if I’m not:
- I cry in front of my kids
- I yell
- I swear
- I say “NO” too many times each day
- “Stop putting that in your mouth” is a catch phrase of mine
- My kids eat sugared treats every now-and-then
- Some days my kids have cocktail sausages for lunch
- Some days I turn on the TV so I can have a cup of coffee in peace, and check my Facebook
- We eat cereal *gasp*
- My kids probably watch too much TV
- Our family motto is “a family that devices together, stays together” … as we all watch devices at the same time every-now-and-then
- My kids eat Kinder Surprise Eggs
- Sometimes my kids get McDonald’s Happy Meals
- When my kids fight, sometimes I just say “I don’t care what you do, whoever wins wins”
- I don’t vacuum every single day
- I don’t wash my kids’ PJs every day
When I post about some of the things I do online, it makes me feel less alone. Suddenly I get people saying “hey I do that too” and I feel validated. Like I’m not the only one who tries their hardest but sometimes just throws their hands up and says “fine just lick the bowl” …
i have come to realise that:
- There are parents out there who yell at their kids.
- There are parents who haven’t tidied their house for a very long time.
- There are parents who hate playing with play dough.
- There are parents who do what they need to do to get through the day – even if that means giving a child a Kinder Surprise Egg
- There are parents who are sure they’re screwing up their kids, just like I feel like I am.
So if there are other parents out there who feel and act the same as me, that means I’m not alone.
Surely that means I’m not a bad parent, right?!
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