Comments on: Finding Acceptance

By: andrea

andrea — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:09:27 +0000

Great post Ang! I hear Thea on the preschoolers and preteens, these are crazy stages all on their own and to have them both at the same time is a little overwhelming at times! Having four children of my own from the ages of 16 to 2 the one thing I’ve learned is that parenting is difficult and it’s okay of you do it differently than I do, heck I even parent each child a little differently, no one thing is going to work for every family or every child for that matter. Lets all work on building each other up rather than tearing each other down, you never know, you may learn something from someone you least expected! After all we all have the same goal in the end and there are many different roads to getting there. In the words of the Beatles … “All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.” (now try to get that song out of your head!) ;) ~drea

By: Bivens

Bivens — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:47:09 +0000

What a wonderful post!!! I have 2 children, ages 31 and 38, and over 35 years in education. You wrote exactly the most important things I learned in all those years. The best thing you can do is remember there is no right or wrong way to parent; there is no perfect way to parent; and the three most important principles are 1) love your child unconditionally 2) enjoy your child every day (time goes by so fast) and 3)be consistent. I envy each of you who still have that unique joy of raising your child to adulthood.

By: steadymom

steadymom — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:58:10 +0000

One of the most pivotal days in a mother’s life is when she musters up the courage to become her own parenting expert. Sounds like you’ve done just that, Ang, and how good it is to encourage others to do the same…

Jamie

By: Ashley Compton

Ashley Compton — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:48:15 +0000

Love it! EXACTLY what I needed to read today! I so struggle with trying to keep up with my perfect family that I get tired!

By: Casey

Casey — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:19:09 +0000

I hate the mommy wars! I’ve learned that, rather than spout advice, tell a friend, “Hey, if you ever want to talk about breastfeeding, let me know and I’ll give you my perspective.” Breastfeeeding could be replaced with things like cosleeping, labor, etc., but the bottom line is to not give unsolicited advice. It does more harm than good.

By: Thea

Thea — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:46:03 +0000

“Love. love, love makes people happy”…you knew I would break out in song!!! LOL! Seriously, just listening to one another… allowing each other to VENT. I so desire a “Mommy Group, ” especially for those of us that have preschoolers AND preteens. YIKES! Some days the hormones are wild and crazy. However, at the end of the day I just want them to know they are truly LOVED!!! Thanks for an awesome post!

By: Lisa @ WellGrounded Life

Lisa @ WellGrounded Life — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:53:31 +0000

Angie: This is a beautiful and important post. I also struggled with intense overwhelm and self-doubt in the first few years of my first baby’s life. (I’m now pregnant with #3) Extreme views and philosophies held by some made me feel inadequate and overly worried that I was going to get it wrong and somehow hurt my little one (moreso emotionally than anything) if I didn’t respond perfectly to every situation every time. It can really be paralyzing for a new mom.
I can’t agree with you more that what we need to offer each other is less strict views on what to do and lots more acceptance, gentleness, and reassurance that parenting is a process, you try something you believe you want to do and see if it is a good fit (for the baby AND for you) if it isn’t you try something else. There are no hard and fast rules and you’ll even parent each child a bit differently because they are different. I think more mothers would thrive and flourish if given more unconditional love and support!