As a parent there are literally thousands of things you have to learn as your child grows. From teaching them to crawl and eat as babies to teaching them how to navigate love and work as they get older. It’s a crazy world as a parent and to add to that chaos there are hundreds of people who will give you their “advice” or put their input into how you’re doing (whether you ask for it or not).

There are so many ways to learn how to teach your children and, spoiler alert, you don’t have to teach any of those ways! There are many parents who limit or have zero screen time in their home but there are just as many who let the tv run in the background all day and neither way is wrong.

You know what is wrong, shaming a parent for the way they parent.

When I first became a parent I tried so hard to shove myself and our daughter into that “perfect” mold. You know the one I mean. The home that only watches tv for an hour a day, does some sort of craft everyday, and only eats fresh fruits and veggies. I quickly learned that was not how our strong willed girl was going to live life. (I do want to take a moment to say that living the way I just described is great if it works for your family)

In our house the tv is always on in the background because our girl loves to sing and dance to the music and shows that come on. She loves talking with Mickey and learning all she can from T.O.T.S. We do crafts but not everyday and she LOVES microwaved chicken nuggets. This is the mold that we made because it fit us.

Becoming a parent is stressful and I found myself stressing myself and our daughter out by trying to shove us into a mold that we didn’t fit. I realized that structure is great but a strict one doesn’t fit us. We have a bed time but we also acknowledge that sometimes we won’t make it into bed at that time and THAT’S OK. We enjoy time with family and friends like dinners, birthday parties, and holidays so my husband and I decided building those relationships and memories are more important than making sure we leave to make it to bed at a certain time.

The truth is, no matter what you do someone will think you could be a better parent one way or another. At the end of the day, as long as you and your child(ren) are happy and healthy that’s all that truly matters.

I hope you build your mold and thrive in it.

Much Love, R