The biggest parenting blunder you can make.

Crunchy. Scrunchy. Free-range. Lawnmower.

Do these terms evoke any reaction in you? Have you heard these terms to describe parenting?

It seems everyone today wants to “define” their parenting style, and defend their choices as to why they do things the way they do. It doesn’t help when we live in the age of social media and the internet, where almost nothing is private. It is full of things you should and shouldn’t do, and unfortunately, full of shame culture.

Everyone wants to be the perfect parent. Everyone would love the picture-perfect family. But is that ever a reality?

Well no, no one is perfect. Looking back though, can we be happy about our choices as parents? Or are we always destined to regret at least one thing from parenthood? What kind of blunders can we make as parents that we can avoid

The biggest parenting blunder you can make is overly worrying about other people. What will people think if I formula feed? For using cry-it-out? For letting them have screen time? What if they’re so picky they will only eat chicken nuggets and fries for a week?

As parents, and especially for moms, there is a huge shame culture. We also usually enter into parenthood thinking, ‘’My child will NEVER do this!” “My child will never eat that bad and will always have fresh home-cooked food!” The sad reality though is that while your intentions are always good, it isn’t always possible to make that a reality. We seem to always worry about what other people think about us and what they think about our parenting, as well as our kids. is it possible to worry so much about others that we kind of lose ourselves in the mix

Absolutely. That is why the biggest mistake we can make is being so worried about what other people think about us that we change how we treat our children accordingly because we are worried about other's opinions. No matter what everyone is going to do something different than you. That is why it is so important not to feel guilty over how you parent.

Every parent has their successes and their struggles. We all have ups and downs. Parenting is sometimes a rollercoaster. We need to create a village that doesn’t shame for their choices!

Do you want to formula feed instead of breastfeeding? Do you want to use disposable diapers instead of cloth? Are you sometimes too tired to cook and clean all day? Do you sometimes let them have junk food even when they don’t always deserve it? Are you a fan of positive over negative reinforcement or vice versa?

In the end, you’re their parents. As long as you love them more than anything, you’re doing so great as a parent. Don’t let anyone else change that fact. You do what you need to be the best parent possible. You got this!