Parenting Ooops.

[jenn_0629]

My son is due on June 30, and every mother that I speak to -seem- like they are the most perfect parents in the world, and I mean..every mother. So, as parents, do you feel as though you having "Parenting Ooops?"

[ra11en]

Oh goodness yes! Probably every day, usually over minor things. And usually over getting frazzled and losing my cool. I get the "oops" feeling when I miss a snack for her even though I know if she were hungry she would let me know. All in all though, we feel like we're doing a pretty good job and as an aggregate it seems the oopsies aren't damaging her too awful bad.

Sometimes is the "oopsies" that give you the best chuckle when you can look back on it later down the road. My husband one time LOST IT when our daughter was only a few days old. We were both walking zombies, and our daughter was sooooo unpredictable for these first time parents. I woke up in the middle of the night and he was pacing around at the foot of our bed next to our daughter in the playpen. He kept snapping a receiving blanket in the air when he got on one side of the room before turning to pace to the other side where he would SNAP the blanket again. He was mumbling "Why won't you sleep? Go to sleep. Why won't you sleep?" over and over. We laugh at that every time we think of it. Reminds us how far we have come!

But face to face with other mothers - that's a jungle! The weak don't survive so you have to seem perfect! J/K. We feel bad enough about our shortcomings (at least I do) so I would rather just talk to my other mom friends about my achievements with our daughter.

[myboysmom]

Oh, I think I'm pretty perfect. . . . Having a meltdown b/c your 2 year old spilled his yogurt on the carpet is perfect behavior for a mom, don't you think? LOL Trust me, NO mom is "perfect", and usually the ones who think they are have the worst-behaving kids!

[autymsmommy]

Perfect parents, hmmm.... Not in this galaxy. No parent is perfect - no matter how hard they try to be, me included. Something always gets in the way of perfection... perfect example last week... My daughter's sitter called, he had a family emergency and needed to leave asap - I was at work. So I had no choice but to ask him to bring my daughter by my work as I was the bartender and the manager on duty at the time. So my daughter got to sit in a booth by the bar and listen to all of the lovely post-6 drink talks and debates that I generally get to listen to. The next day at school she told the teacher about all the cool grown up drinks she learned how to make at mommy's work - and how neat they made the grown ups act... oh, and that now she knew how mommy made money, big guys who had drank alot of those drinks mommy makes throw money at mommy and mommy does her "pretend" laugh and picks it up... luckily the teacher thought it was hilarious... Definately a PARENTING OOPS!

[charliesmommy]

You bet I have Oooops moments. We all do. You should expect them and when they happen learn from them and move on. Don't dwell.

[alwndh]

Well, I can honestly say that I make mistakes as a parent but I also know that I will learn and have learned from them. I am a first time parent and sure am happy that my son is still so young that he will not remember some of the oops's that I and my husband have made. Just don't be fooled by others if they think that they are the greatest parent because I can just about garentee that they have made mistakes at one point or another.

[MamaT]

the "perfect" parents? the ones who do have the oops moments. there are oops moments in every aspect of life.. and with kids it's no different. sometimes the moments are so funny.. that thinking back on them like i am now.. crack you up!

[happymother]

Please rest assured that there are no "perfect" parents. When my son was 10 days old, I was trimming his nails and accidentally cut his finger. (I cried more than he did.) And when he was 13 months old, he fractured his arm, and my husband and I didn't realize it for about 24 hours. (We thought he sprained his wrist, but turns out babies rarely sprain anything, and found out it was a break).
Best parenting advice I know is to do your best and not be too hard on yourself when you do something wrong (becuase you will do many things wrong, but that's just part of the learning process.) :-) Best of luck to you!

[kaiya23]

I have cut nails too short and drawn blood. I have given in to both my frustration and the parenting style I was brought up with and smacked her hands and bottom more than I ever thought I would. At two months, I put her on the bed so I could get ready and she fell off, face first. But she is happy and playful and stable as others have told me, so whatever "oops" I may have caused apparently didn't ruin her. Trust that you (and your SO) have the instictive ability to do what is best for your child. You may get some criticism, but it comes from those who don't know your life. Who knows, you may end up impressing someone so much that you seem like the "perfect mom." Happy mothering!

[LimeTwists]

Life is full of oops moments, and the parenting department is no exception! As I type, I just watched my 4 year old drop a spoonful of yogurt on her leg, use her spoon to scoop up said yogurt, and then plop it in her mouth. LOL Its the nature of the job. Kids are kids and sometimes you can only sit back and chuckle about it.