Parenting

To be a good parent, we tend to believe that we need to provide our children certain basic items or we are failing them. Good food. A decent house to live. Nice clothes. Nice space of their own. I walk passed my kids room and see a disaster. A mess that makes me cringe every time I walk in. No longer a battle I choose to fight. She has been sleeping on the floor for months because as she says, "I like it better." The newer, very comfy, mattress she has, that I spent hours looking over reviews before purchasing, she couldn't care less about. Never mind all the nice soft sheets I've purchased for it. When she does choose to sleep on it, she doesn't want sheets. The closet of clothes she has but her favorite is a pair of second hand worn out jeggings, showing they've been loved. I recently read an article about a mom who struggled when her kids were little and how much guilt she carries from it. Now adults, she asked them what were their favorite things when they were little. They said, our small things dinners in front of the tv. She was shocked by their response and told them that was ridiculous. What they called the small things dinner, was a time she didn't have much in the house for dinner and would give them a plate of several little piles of random food she could gather from the fridge and cupboards. She sat them in front of the tv while she sat at the table feeling defeated and overwhelmed by life. Our perspective is often times not what our kids are going to take away from the experience. Do the best you can and give yourself a break! They will probably need therapy 😂 but most likely for reasons you thought you were doing good.