I Am Honest

The truth is that I am not the best mum in the world... In fact, I haven't a compass which points towards true greatness. The needle spins about. So, I muddle through motherhood relying on feedback from the children and from Jon. Is that wrong? Probably.

Just when I thought I had done something fantastic and I was about to pat myself on the back and say "Good one Mum!"... that is when I hear negative feedback from one of the other children. So, perhaps you cannot make all of them happy all of the time. Is that it? I don't know... I am only asking the honest questions. Does anyone feel like they are a great parent? How do you do it?

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daveal · 56-60, M

I think you hit the most important point with the name of this group. If we as parents are truly honest, then we will all be painfully aware of our short comings. We do the best we can with the information we have at the time.

We also fall into the trap of being selfish at times. Honestly recognizing the difference between poor parenting at the time and poor parenting in retrospect is very important. There is no reason to beat yourself up when you did the very best you could. If you're able to recognize could have done better and use that to be a better parent and person, then I'd say you are doing a fantastic job and setting a good example.