Let us be honest. There is no such thing as the perfect parent and striving for perfection only sets yourself up for failure. Parents are human and humans make mistakes. Sometimes we let our emotions get the better of us.

Our capacity to cope with stressful situations is influenced by our early childhood experiences (how we were parented), our life experiences and situational factors such as whether we have had a decent night’s sleep (for most parents, this is hardly ever!).

Parents, just like any human, are emotional beings and sometimes we yell, give in to unreasonable demands or just completely shut down.

And that is okay.

All that matters to your child is that you do a good enough job.

I’m certainly not condoning abusive or neglectful parental behaviour. Quite simply, it is okay to do an adequate job sometimes. That is part of being a parent. What is more important is that you learn from your mistakes. You reflect on what you do well, and what you don’t do so well.

You take steps forward to do a better job next time, without getting bogged down in guilt. If you continually doubt yourself and have low self-esteem this will impact the quality of your relationship with your child (and impact their self-esteem too).

How do you feel about your parenting?

If you are feeling low about your parenting, then you may also feel low about other aspects of your life, like your employment or relationships.

Use these self-reflection questions to consider how you currently feel about your role as a parent:

Would you like to empower yourself to become a good enough parent? Why don’t you get in touch and we will work together to where you think you need to be!