PARENTING REALITY CHECK
Written by Sheree Hoddinett
You don’t realise how hard parenting is until it hits you in the face. Literally in the face, with either an arm, leg, head (the worst!) or a dreaded toy which has been flung in your direction, either deliberately or in frustration, it doesn’t matter, it still hurts! If someone had told me in the beginning how different each day can be with kids, I probably would have laughed in their face. But it really can be different every single day. Every. Single. Day. Just when you think you have a handle on things, bam like a smack in the face, the kids change it up again. I guess it’s great they keep us on our toes but sometimes a bit of warning would be nice. Yeah I know, right?!
I have had a bit of a glimpse into my future of parenting two girls. My current partner has two older girls and wow is it a big change. I think I have enough drama dealing with attitude now, I think I will have to run away when my girls hit pre-teen territory. It is scary. I think my girls don’t listen now but that is the understatement of the century. I know as kids grow older they go through puberty and finding their place in the world but I swear I don’t remember being that bad. Granted it was over 20 years (gee I’m showing my age now!) but surely things haven’t changed that much, have they?!
I guess it goes to show how different things are as a parent. You gain a lot of respect and understanding for what your own parents must have gone through in raising you and your siblings. I know my brother was the painful one because I was a saint! Haha! I know I wasn’t but compared to others I believe I may have been a walk in the park, right mum?! Nudge nudge, wink wink! I did apologise to my mum when I came out the other end of being a tortured teenager. Well mum, I think karma has got its sweet revenge in the form of two very beautiful and very spirited daughters. Like mini versions of myself to pay me back for all the grief I may have caused, back in the day!
I think every parent knows nothing is going to be easy but when you’re actually living it, it’s a totally different story. I wasn’t one of those parents-to-be who said “oh my child will never do that”, well I could have said it in my head and not realised what an idiot I was being! In a way I feel it’s not so much that you choose a parenting style but more that your child chooses their path and way of doing things. Yes, there are many children that may be missing some, shall we say, “direction”? Oh my children are far from perfect, believe me. The way I get spoken to sometimes is enough for me to blow a gasket ten times over, but I’ve been told by many people that they are beautiful, polite children. I often have to double check we are talking about my children and not someone else’s! But they do say that for most kids, mum is their safe place where they can let all their feelings and emotions play out without fear of reprimand. Yep I can agree that I deal with that on a regular basis, does my head in but I’m there for the big hugs at the end of it all.
It’s hard but I often have to remind myself that it’s not forever. They won’t need me 24/7 forever, they won’t be hanging off me all the time and no doubt one day, I’ll be more of an embarrassment than anything else. But for now I will continue to scream at them when they drive me crazy and hug them tight when they need it and when I really need it too, because it’ll all be over before I know it! Head on over to www.shereekim.com to see what else has been happening in my parenting life. Until next time, keep enjoying the wild ride and ups and downs of parenting knowing you aren’t alone…