When I first started out in this motherhood gig, I was determined to be the perfect mum. I’ve since learned, the hard way, that there’s no such thing. Setting yourself up to do everything perfectly is setting yourself up for failure. So, I decided to be ‘good’.
When our first born was tiny (and not the terrorising nearly two year old he is now) ‘good’ meant homemade food, no screen time, loads of play and interaction, stories and baths every single night before bedtime, and more.
Oh, how things have changed!
We’ve all had one (or more!) of ‘those days’. You know, the days when you child won’t stop whining, all day, for no perceivable reason, or won’t let you get anything done, or won’t stop throwing tantrums.
Nearly two years on, and with our second bub in the household, I’ve learned that what we mums can consider ‘bad’ is sometimes just necessary. Some days, it’s more than ok to do something you’d previously thought was not on, just to get through.
These are the ways I was a ‘bad mum’ to my toddler today:
I gave my child a dummy just to shut him up.
Yes, he’s nearly two years old and probably shouldn’t be using a dummy, but I just kind forgot to wean him off it in between growing and birthing another human and getting used to two kids under two. He usually only uses it for sleep. But shove that little piece of plastic in his mouth during the day and, boy, do I understand why they call it a ‘pacifier’. Ahhhh, the relief that a bit of quiet can bring.
