Do What You Have To Do
Hey mama, are you struggling to get through your day? Are you just not having it with the tantrums, refusals of naps, potty training mishaps, or fighting between children? Well, you are not alone, and I'm here to tell you to do what you gotta do!
Kids don't always react to the same form of punishment or the same form of parenting. We even have to be strategic in how we deal with one kid versus another. This is why we cannot conform to other people’s parenting expectations, but rather do what's best for us and our kids.
Goodbye
My girls and I are in roaming around target and I mistakenly forget to detour around the toy aisles. It happens to the best of us. The girls begin drooling over all the their dreams in one section. Dolls they could use for their imaginary play and all the slime their hearts could ever dream.
Pulling children away from the toy aisle is quite possibly more difficult than taking them to the doctors office knowing they have a shot or two coming their way. I know it's coming, the inevitable meltdown. The throwing themselves on the ground in protest for a new toy. "But mommy, I have money!”
You would think children would know they aren't going to be allowed to get a toy every time, but in their minds, we are the weaker link and they will get that toy. I cannot for the life of me get them out of this dang isle. Maybe they really are the superior ones. Until I LEAVE. I simply just walk away...."bye girls".
Death glares. Here come the earth shattering death glares from all the other people around me. It’s like they truly believe I am going to leave my child there forever. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what parents call a fake out I love my girls, this is just what I got to do to survive. This is how I get out of target with some of my sanity in tact.
Survival Skills
These are survival skills. We do what is necessary to get through each day. Say what you need to say and do what you gotta do. If you need to tell your kids you are going to throw their beloved iPad in the trash can, do it. Maybe they need a reminder that Santa is going to put them on the naughty list, or maybe just allow your child to run around publicly in a pull up with no pants.
Being a parent doesn't mean conforming to what everyone else believes you need to do. It means doing what you believe is best for your own children. It means not focusing on the death glares from strangers or the nasty comment they made under their breath.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Parenting comes in all shapes and sizes. We custom fit each thing we do with every kid we have birthed or adopted. We love our best, we give our best, and we do our best to help them become the best people they can be.
In a perfect world, our children won't be screaming little monsters. They'll stand still in line at the grocery store and they'll always speak with kind words to others. In a perfect world, they respect and obey us when we ask them the first time.
Well, a perfect world is non existent. We ourselves aren’t perfect, so we need to allow our children that same freedom and love them through it.
So mama, love your children well and do what you gotta do!
