parenting myths

Becoming a parent is the single most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. It is also the most tiring, frustrating, and messy thing I’ve ever been a part of as well. There are so many things I thought BEFORE becoming a parent that were quickly laughed at once a baby joined our family.

Here are a few parenting myths I’ve quickly thrown out the window:

Pregnancy glow

If glisening sweat is consider “glowing,” then I was neon! All three of my boys were minuture furnaces inside me. The hormones spike didn’t make my skin a beautful shiney those wives tales promise you.

Sleeping like a baby

Whoever came up with this silly statement tricked me into thinking babies just slept when they were supposed to. They don’t. They are actually sure to be wide awake when you really, really need them to sleep.

Control your child

I know the thoughts behind those stares as my kids have epic meltdowns in public. “Control your kids!” I’ll admit I had similar thoughts about unruly kids BEFORE I had kids. As much as I’d like to believe my kids will always do as I say. I cannot MAKE them behave. I also cannot make them eat, sleep or poop, or mind their manners on my demand either.

I’d love to think my kids will always do and say the right things. It would be lovely if my kids never defied me, but that’s not my reality. I put up my best front to my kids by pretending that I know what I’m doing. I PRETEND to have control. The unfortunate truth is that kids have a mind of their own. They have opinions and personalities that have way more control over the situation than I do.

You’ll be a natural

Parenting does NOT come naturally. One of my biggest realizations in the first few days after becoming a mother was that I had no idea what I was doing. I had a huge learning curve. As much as I had prepped by reading pregnancy, birthing and parenting books, the on the job training was a crash course into something very unfamiliar.

Yes, there are a lot of physiological things your body just “knows” how to do. But, I was very far from feeling natural or confident during my first few weeks as a new parent. And there are STILL moments that I question myself. Parenting is on the job training at its finest. 

Keep them up late so they sleep in

I welcome anyone dishing out this advice, to come take care of my screaming monsters that are not only AWAKE bright and early, but are now so cranky because they are exhausted from staying up way past bedtime. Keeping them up tends to mess them up for days. Requiring several days to catch up on sleep and reset their routine.

You should treat all your children equally

I don’t treat mine equally, and I don’t pretend to. For one, all of my kids are different ages and in different stages of development. The expectations I have for my five year old or higher (and stricter) than I have for my two year old. I love all of my kids equally, but in completely different ways. I parent them differently as well. And that’s ok. Our house doesn’t run on that false impression that life is always fair.

Just because I have all boys, doesn’t mean they all have the same personalities. They each have vastly different personalities. Things that motivate each kid are different. They each respond to rewards and consequences differently as well. 

Terrible twos

This fools parents into thinking that your child will ONLY have terrible moments when they’re two. Spoiler alert: All kids have their difficult moments. They test the boundaries at all ages and stages. 

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