The most valuable lesson I believe I have learned so far when it comes to parenting, is acknowledging when you have not made the best decision for your child.
When you become a parent, you have to let go of all of the pride you walk around with, and see situations for what they really are. It’s okay to admit you have made a mistake. What is not okay, however, is feeling too embarrassed to admit any wrong-doing and continue to make poor choices. You are raising a future adult. Their future matters more than your pride and ego.
None of us are given handbooks, tests or guidelines. We are all thrown in to the world of parenting blind. No one will ever be a perfect parent/guardian and that is okay. We all learn as we go.
My favorite saying these days is
Know better, do better.
Someone said it to me a few months back, and it hit hard. It covers all parts of life, not just parenting.
When I took my sweet baby boy home from the hospital, it was the middle of winter. I had no idea what I was doing. I would cuddle him all day in bed or on the couch, with the TV on. I realized quickly that he loved staring at the television. I thought,
“dang I can get so much done now!”
I would let him lay in his bassinet and watch while I did the dishes, or took a shower, or switched the laundry. It became too convenient. For about a month or so, I had let him watch television almost every time I did chores around the house. It got to the point where he would cry and get upset if it wasn’t on.
(Side note, working in restaurants has made me grow a strong hatred for the parents that use a tablet, phone, screen of any kind to quiet their children. Sorry, but I am not sorry.)
Callum and I looked at each other one day and asked “what in the world are we doing? We are going against everything we believe in!” (Look up all of the negative impacts television and screen time have on young developing brains!)
We immediately put a stop to it and felt like awful parents. I wanted to pretend it never happened, but I learned quickly that it is okay to make poor decisions sometimes as long as you recognize they are poor and learn from them.
I am not judging how others parent, I am simply saying that if you know better, there is no excuse to not do better.
Thanks for joining my Ted Talk.
The photo of my sweet baby was on the day he turned four months old. In just under two weeks, he will be eight months old.
Excuse me while I go cry.