Hey fellow parents,
So, by a show of digital hands—how many of you have been accused of being a bad parent? Or felt like you were being a bad parent? If it’s something you have ever felt, it is downright horrible. You feel like you are failing in the most important task in your life. You aren’t doing what you should be, or you just can’t seem to keep your child happy.
Whatever the reason for your case of the “not good enough,” I want you to consider a few things. First, to think you are a bad parent, you must first know what it means to be a good parent. Second, how do you define “parent” itself? Despite what others may tell you, or what you may expect of yourself, it is surprisingly easy to be a good parent.
So, what does it mean to be a good parent? I believe the answer is something we all already know but shrug off as not being enough. First—do you love your child? You’re probably thinking, well duh, of course I love my child. Second—do you do what’s in the best interest of your child? Third—do you put your child’s needs ahead of your own? If you can say yes to those three things, then it’s a safe bet you are a good parent.
As we all know, children don’t come with instructions. You can Google till the cows come home about how to be a good mother or father. Here’s the thing—your child is unique, unlike any other child in the world. So, of course your experience will be different from those you read about. And here is something I cannot stress enough: the amount of toys, the amount of gadgets, or the number of vacations you can take does not impact whether or not you are a good parent.
Remember all those nights you spent cradling your child so they could sleep—or maybe you are there now.
Something important to remember is that no one is better at parenting your child than you. It’s easy to get caught up in the thought process that someone must be a better parent than you if such-and-such thing has happened. But understand—no two children are the same, just like no two parents are exactly the same. It seems so simple, but the simple things are the things we forget first.