"Bad Parent" Days

Do you ever have days when you feel like you are a bad parent, or at the very least question your ability to bring this child God has given you to adulthood? I know that I do. There is so much pressure on parents today. To some extent, I guess that there always has been, but I think that today there are so many choices involved in how you raise your children. From what you feed them to where (or if) they go to school to what activities they get involved in to how much TV to allow them to watch to what behaviors to allow at what age, each day seems to require way too many decisions. It doesn't help that there are so many parenting books, magazines, and websites providing contradictory information. Add in the opinions of your doctor, your mother, and your friends, and I think that it is only natural that we suffer from a little self-doubt once in a while.

I am blessed to be friends with many wonderful mothers who I look up to for advice. In many ways, this particular group of moms has raised mothering to an art form. Their children are well-behaved and accomplished in many areas. No one would ever question their ability to parent and yet I know that these mothers have their own self-doubts. No one is immune.

When I became a mother, my sister gave me a framed print of this saying:

"God gave this child for you to guide,
to love, to walk through life beside,
a little child so full of charms
to fill a pair of loving arms.
God picked you out because He knew
how safe this child would be with you."

When I have days when I question my ability to be a good mom, I try to remember that God gave me these children. He must have thought that I could do the job. With His help, I am doing the best that I can. That is all I can offer. I am not a perfect mom. No one is. My children will no doubt have much to discuss with their therapists later in life! But I am in this for the long haul, and the most I can do is get up every morning and be the best mom I can be on that day, whatever the day may bring.