Somedays...I Just Feel Like a Bad Mom

When I was pregnant with my daughter, everyone I encountered had a piece of advice for me. People told me that I should sleep when the baby sleeps. People let me know that parenting takes a lot of patience. People warned me about that parenthood could cause stress in the relationship with my significant other. This was all good advice, but there was one thing that I wish I would have known. I wish someone would have explained to me the one thing that I find most trying about parenting...the self-doubt.

This seems to be the least talked about issue in parenting, but time after time I find myself bogged down with self-doubt. I would do anything for my daughter and try my hardest to be the best parent that I can be. Despite all this, I still have days when I just feel like a bad mother. I forget to brush my little one's teeth before bed. I let her watch TV for three hours straight so I can catch a break. I feel like I'm not spending enough quality time with her. I think we all have these moments, but there is nothing that causes more grief for me.

The other day, I was feeling particularly overwhelmed with this feeling. My daughter was being uncharacteristically clingy, and I was starting to worry about the lack of interaction she was getting with other children. I was behind on my homework and my house was a total mess. Needless to say, I was just feeling like a complete failure. I called a friend of mine in a moment of need. She's a mother as well, and after listening to all my worries, she said something that actually made me feel better.

She told me, "None of us are perfect. That doesn't make you a good mother or a bad mother. It makes you a human being."

Now, this is my first child, and I still have no idea what I"m doing, but this is something I'm learning as I grow as a parent. I AM a human being. No matter how hard I try, I will make mistakes. I guess this is okay, and the older my daughter gets the less anxiety I have about my parenting skills. I will probably always have days of self-doubt. However, I also know that my daughter is learning and growing and developing into a lovely person, despite the fact that I forgot to brush her teeth.