Parenting – You’re NOT doing it wrong

After all, everywhere you look tells you that you’re doing it wrong.  From Facebook horror stories, to Pinterest worthy projects that ALL of the best moms are doing, there are a million and a half sources of THE BEST way to raise your children, all the while reassuring you that you are the WORST mother ever.

This blog is not one of them.  I want to reassure YOU that you are doing the best you can.  Parenting ideals change so rapidly, that all you can do is the best that you can do.

Way back in the dark ages, when I started raising children, there was no Internet to tell me the best way to do things.  I relied on my family and limited knowledge and instincts to raise my first two children.  I was a single mom, who worked full time, and sometimes went to school at the same time.  I could only do so much in the 168 hours a week, 24 hours a day that I had.

However, now that my older children are mostly grown at ages 20 and 16, I can reflect upon motherhood with a little bit of clarity that first time moms of little ones aren’t granted.

Did my oldest two suffer because they doesn’t have a book signed by each and every one of their elementary school teachers?  Or a hand-painted mural depicting their growth?  Or any one of a thousand different craft projects that I had neither the time or money to create?

No, but they do have a healthy respect for each and every single one of their teachers.  And do you know what else they have?  A healthy work ethic because I wouldn’t and couldn’t hand them everything on a silver platter.

When my oldest first went away to college, there were more than a few boys in his dorm who were unable to wash their own clothes.

My kids started learning how to use the washing machine by the time they could reach the buttons.

And that’s okay.

Responsibility and chores never hurt a healthy child.