I have been unkind to myself again lately, I have caught myself calling me stupid every time I make some little parenting mistake. But the thing is, I'm not stupid, I'm just a rookie. And even if I do this all over again with another little bambino, it'll be all new, because no two kids are alike.
I will berate myself for trying to put her down for a second nap - even though she has taken a second nap for two months- because today she slept in and it's just not going to happen. But that's not being stupid, that's just being hopeful and trying out a hypothesis. I can't blame myself for not being a psychic, which is what you would have to be to raise children in an error-free state.
And it's important to me not to set a bad example for Maeve - wrong and stupid are not the same thing - you're only stupid if you can't admit that you were wrong or you keep trying the wrong thing over and over again, like an RC car backing up with that windy mechanical noise and hitting the same brick wall over and over. I don't want her to think that Mommy is stupid, or that I think I am, when clearly I am not.
Words are so powerful in the world of a child who understands so few of them. I will fix this, for her sake, and for mine.
*hugs*
ReplyDeleteExactly, there's no reason to beat yourself up over what you perceive as mistakes. My parents were by no means perfect, but they were pretty great and I was lucky to have them. :)