Guilt Free Friday!!
As a mother I struggle with guilt. A lot! I spend a lot of time thinking and rethinking about the decisions I’ve made as a mother. I just finished reading a book about Motherhood and guilt, and as humorous as it was there was a lot of truth in it. One of the exercises the author recommends is to make a list of things that you have done right, or that you don’t feel guilty about. I have decided that Friday’s will be my guilt free days! Today I will list 5 (and it was hard to come up with 5) things that I DON”T feel guilty about as a mom. So here goes!!
1. I DON”T feel guilty for feeding my babies formula! I did breastfeed all 4 for varying periods of time, but when necessary they got formula.
2. I DON”T feel guilty for co-sleeping with some of my kids and not others. Different kids, different needs, different circumstances.
3. I DON”T feel guilty for setting an expectation of behavior for my kids and then following through with natural consequences if they don’t meet that expectation.
4. I DON”T feel guilty for sometimes letting a child cuddle with me on the couch even though they were supposed to be in bed and they sneak downstairs for “water” or the “noise” that they heard.
5. I DON”T feel guilty for not doing everything for or “babying” my kids. Sometimes I wish I could baby them more, but with 4 kids it’s not always possible. Nothing is wrong with a child that can do things for themselves.
Whew, that was tough!!! Why should it be so hard to come up with things I’ve done as a mother that I don’t feel guilty about? My reason for forcing myself to begin to make statements of things I’ve done right as a mother is because I don’t think I am helping my kids by drowning in my own guilt. I want my kids to see that they are being raised by a confident mother who makes decisions and doesn’t second guess herself. Sure, I will and do make mistakes. But I want to teach my children to make good decisions and feel confident about those decisions. They have to learn that from me.
Come on Moms!! Comment with 5 things that you DON”T feel guilty about as a mother, or write your own blog post and put your link in my comments. I want to read about all the strong moms out there!
Posted under The J's by admin
Wow….Heather you are so right!!! I could probably think of alot more than 5 “guilts”!! I just tell my kids to tell it to their shrink or Oprah!!! You are an amazing Mother!!!
by: Dana, Mar 26th at 6:38 pm
You know I always told my kids to make their complaints Chapter (whatever) of their “Mommie Dearest” books–and to send me some of the proceeds.
by: Susan, Mar 27th at 9:42 pm