Do parents have to be perfect to do it "right"?

For years, I have been working closely with parents. As a preschool teacher, coordinator of an after-school program, and a Kindergarten teacher, I've had a front row seat to raising children in the early years. I've learned a LOT about how I would like to do things as a parent myself and just as many things I DO NOT want to do as a parent. Having children myself made me much more understanding of just how difficult and demanding parenting really is. It gave me the confidence I needed to start advising parents when they asked what to do about their child's behavior. Before becoming a mom, I had ideas (don't we all?) of what I wanted to tell those parents...but that's all they were, ideas.

Once my theories had been tried and tested, with positive results (at least most of the time) I was ready to offer suggestions to parents who were struggling and genuinely wanted to make some changes. I realized coaching a parent through a situation was just as rewarding as watching the lightbulb turn on for a child who reads a sentence for the first time.

I found a new passion...a new way to use my knowledge and skills to help others. I want to coach parents! Sounds great, right?? Problem was, daily interaction with parents has really become a thing of the past, or only happened electronically. I thought maybe I could hold after-school workshops. But that's been tried before with little success. Today's families are so busy that, even if they want the help or advice, their evenings are just too full to commit to one more thing.

So that brings me here. I'm starting this blog hoping to meet parents where they are and offer the advice that I have to give. I'm not an expert, and I'm still learning things about this crazy thing called parenting myself. But I do have years of experience working with kids and now 10 years experience raising my own kids.

I will leave you with my greatest takeaway so far. Parents DO NOT have to be perfect to raise amazing kids. In fact, trying to do it all perfectly will just drive you crazy because it is never going to happen. STOP TRYING! What you can do is be intentional with your choices, consistent in your discipline and reward systems, and be present in your child's life. It will never be easy, but there are always ways to make it EASIER.