You’re Not a Failure For Not Loving Every Second of Parenting

It’s not news to anyone that parenting is hard. It is not for the fainthearted. When they hurt, you hurt. When their heart breaks, you think yours might also fall to pieces. Knowing when to step in and when to let them fail and learn on their own is a constant battle of the heart and mind. 

But just because parenting is hard, doesn’t mean you’re failing. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of comparisons. 

But, why are we so afraid to admit when we’re tired or that we don’t know what to do next. Why do we feel like we’re failing when we don’t know how to make them sleep, or potty train, or stop hitting their friends? Just because things are tough, doesn’t mean we’re doing things wrong. 

Parenting is just an uphill battle. A sometimes unappreciated, thankless job. Where it seems all your effort goes unnoticed. 

It’s OK to cry in the shower. 
It’s OK to feel frustrated or that we need a break from our kids. 
It’s OK to need space or a break or just want to go to the bathroom alone. 
It’s OK to want a vacation or crave adult conversations. 
It’s OK to feel lonely or scared or bored. 
It’s OK to worry about your firstborn when baby #2 comes home. 
It’s OK to not know what to do next with behavior.
It’s OK to feel like you’re not cut out for this gig sometimes. 
It’s OK to doubt yourself and change the course of action mid day.
It’s totally OK if your child did not fully potty train within the golden 3 day window. 
It’s OK if your child didn’t sleep through the night or doesn’t nap anywhere other than your chest. 
It’s OK to look forward to bedtime but then cry because you miss them terribly once they’re sleeping peacefully in all their sweaty mess. 
It’s OK if you don’t have the energy to throw a Pinterest worthy birthday party. 
It’s OK if you don’t feed them organic everything. 
It’s OK if they throw themselves on the floor in Target in a full on meltdown because you won’t buy them that broom that they claim would make all their little dreams comes true. (You’re not the worst mommy in the world, as they may shout at you in range by the way).
It’s OK to feel the weight of mom guilt. It consumes every one of us every now and then. 

We all make mistakes. We all fail and we try again. We all learn right alongside our children. 

Parenting would be so much easier if we didn’t care so much. But we do. We love those little love bugs more every day, even when they make us question our sanity. But I’m here to give you the gift of permission. Permission to have a love/hate relationship with the trials of parenting. 

You don’t have to love every second of parenting to love your kids to the end of the earth. 

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Articles by Michelle Tate

Michelle Tate

A native Texan, born and raised, I married my college sweetheart, and now spend my days raising our three young boys. In another life, I was an elementary school teacher, before diving deep in my true passion for my own babies and writing. My new children’s book, “Be” encourages kids to be the best versions of themselves while being accepting and kind to everyone they meet. Follow me on Facebook at Raising Humble Humans. 

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