The Seasons Of Parenting

When it comes to parenting there is this idea that you will one day arrive as a parent and have everything all figured out. The truth is, every parent is in their own season of parenting with its own set of challenges. In the early days, you worry about feeding your baby, how much they are sleeping and if you are doing anything right at all. When your kids are teenagers you are worried about college and what will become of them when they hit adulthood. And then there is everything in between.

This Too Shall Pass

As you approach each stage you need to remember that this too shall pass, even if it doesn’t seem like it will. You will get through this, your child will figure out how to get to the next stage and you will move on to something else.

You will get through the stage and move on to the next one and before you know it your current struggle will just be a memory. You might not even think about it anymore unless another mom brings it up. Sometimes we forget the things that used to concern us the most and that is okay. That gives us space to focus on the challenges we are currently going through.

You Are Not Alone

You also need to remember that you are not alone in your struggles. Potty training was always such a struggle for me but I knew I wasn’t alone. When I was working with my oldest son, I had a friend that was working with her little boy as well. Working together made it easier to be able to go through that stage since it was such a challenge for both of us.

If you are struggling with something and you know a friend or family member has gone through the same thing too, you can always ask them about how they dealt with that challenge. Unwanted advice is always frustrating but sometimes when you need help or ideas knowing what worked for others can be a big help. They might tell you something you never even thought about before.

Don’t Take It Personally

Too often us moms take what our children are going through personally. We assume that we are dealing with a certain stage because of our parenting. In reality, a lot of kid’s behavior is normal and we just have to do the best that we can. Sometimes we won’t see the results of our parenting until years after the problem has stopped. At times you might feel like what you are doing doesn’t matter but it does.

Don’t Judge

When we are passed a stage we have already been through it can be easy to judge others who are still there. We might think that they are not doing what we did to handle things or that their approach is just flat out wrong. We need to remember that we are all on our own parenting journey and that will look different based on the parent and the child. We should be compassionate to other moms who are struggling and try not to judge them because of what they are currently going through just because we are over that stage. This could be a great time to offer our support and simply say that we have been there before and we know that the stage is a hard one.

Wherever you are during your parenting journey, know that the difficult stages don’t last forever. Know that you are doing the best that you can. And know that when your kids are grown and you look back at their childhoods you will see things you did really right and things you did wrong and know that what you are feeling is normal.

MOM, You are enough and you can create a more peaceful family life right now.  The Abundant Mama Ecourse will help. There are many ways to raise a happy, thriving child. But they all begin with a happy mama.