Being a mom is hard. There are all sorts of parenting books you can read, but none of those books can truly prepare you for the actual physical act of dealing with a toddler/threenager. (True story: Just the other morning, my daughter was faking a cough so that I would give her allergy medicine, and then she had a meltdown when I - obviously and rightly - said "no". And that was just 7:30 a.m.)
There's a lot to deal with as a mom, and I usually find that most of my "mom fails" occur due to my chronic "mom brain". I can't even tell you how many times I've left the house without something important. And don't even get me started on the time I forgot I was holding my wallet and then dropped it and then lost it! (Thank goodness for the person who found it and turned it into the police station.)
So without further ado, here is my list of top mom fails. Maybe some of you can relate? Let me know in the comments so I know I'm not alone.
Mom Fail 1: I forget to brush my kid's teeth.
I don't know why this is so hard for me. I always brush my teeth, but it's part of my morning routine. Shower, brush teeth, get dressed. My daughter's morning routine is not as structured, and when I'm trying to get out the door with her, sometimes brushing teeth gets lost in the mental shuffle in favor of bringing extra Pull-Ups or a snack. (More on that later.) I always remember to brush her teeth at night, so I guess that's better than nothing? So far, all of her dental appointments have been great.
Mom Fail 2: I forget to bring extra Pull-Ups or a snack or water, etc.
I panicked the other morning. My daughter was in big girl underwear (!!!) and we were on our way to the grocery store when I realized I had forgotten the travel potty. She assured me that she didn't have to go and didn't want the travel potty. We didn't have to call for a clean-up in aisle four, but wouldn't I have had better peace of mind if I had just remembered to bring the darn travel potty in the first place? Not that we can afford to do this, but I feel like I need multiples of EVERYTHING. Like I have to keep one set of stuff in each car and just always keep it there, never take it out, because if I take it out then I'll forget to put it back in.
And if I forget to bring a snack or water, forget it. MELTDOWN CITY. It doesn't matter if I tell my child she can have water at our destination. (Just be patient, child, says the mother who is the dictionary definition of impatient.) Those are fun car rides.
Mom Fail 3: I lose my patience.
Speaking of patience, I don't do very well in certain situations with my daughter. I'm a fast walker; she's got small legs. Sometimes I feel like I'm pulling her arm out of her socket as we're walking together hand-in-hand, but I literally do not know how to walk any slower. I might as well just stop. And when my daughter is having a meltdown in the car, it's hard for me to empathize with her plight because I'm driving the car and trying to concentrate on driving the car (and listening to the positive and uplifting music of Star 99.1) and all this crying over NOTHING is distracting to me.
Mom Fail 4: I spend too much time on my phone.
It doesn't help that my fitness tracker wearable died, leaving me with no idea how to fix it and no way of telling the time without looking at my phone. Thus, my phone is always with me in my pocket as I'm walking around the house playing with my daughter. "Playing" is a loose term that usually involves me sitting in my kid's room and watching her while she plays. Often, she only wants to interact with me if I'm voicing her Buzz Lightyear action figure. So during the time I'm just sitting there waiting for my cue, I'm bored and I turn to my phone. I don't want her to see me doing it. I don't want her to think that I don't want to "play" with her. But I just can't sit still and be. I'm always thinking of other thing that I need to do. I need to start up a yoga practice again and get back into my "beingness".
Mom Fail 5: I give my daughter too much screen time.
I fully believe that sometimes we moms just gotta do what we gotta do. Did I use Peppa Pig episodes on YouTube to bribe my kid to sit on the potty? Yes. Has she told me she has to pee and then spent 30 minutes sitting on the potty watching Peppa with no pee to show for it? Yes. Does she watch something on TV while eating breakfast in the morning? Yes. But do I need her to sit in her booster seat at the table while her dad finishes getting ready and I head out the door to work? Yes. I try to limit screen time to moments like that, when I just need the TV to occupy her so I can do something, like make dinner or leave for work. I'm always amazed when we have days where the TV doesn't come on once! It is possible and, honestly, those days happen more often than TV days. So I really shouldn't be worrying about it or shaming myself. But I still do.
What about you? What are your top mom fails and have you ever figured out how to turn them around into mom wins?
There's a lot to deal with as a mom, and I usually find that most of my "mom fails" occur due to my chronic "mom brain". I can't even tell you how many times I've left the house without something important. And don't even get me started on the time I forgot I was holding my wallet and then dropped it and then lost it! (Thank goodness for the person who found it and turned it into the police station.)
So without further ado, here is my list of top mom fails. Maybe some of you can relate? Let me know in the comments so I know I'm not alone.
Mom Fail 1: I forget to brush my kid's teeth.
I don't know why this is so hard for me. I always brush my teeth, but it's part of my morning routine. Shower, brush teeth, get dressed. My daughter's morning routine is not as structured, and when I'm trying to get out the door with her, sometimes brushing teeth gets lost in the mental shuffle in favor of bringing extra Pull-Ups or a snack. (More on that later.) I always remember to brush her teeth at night, so I guess that's better than nothing? So far, all of her dental appointments have been great.
Mom Fail 2: I forget to bring extra Pull-Ups or a snack or water, etc.
I panicked the other morning. My daughter was in big girl underwear (!!!) and we were on our way to the grocery store when I realized I had forgotten the travel potty. She assured me that she didn't have to go and didn't want the travel potty. We didn't have to call for a clean-up in aisle four, but wouldn't I have had better peace of mind if I had just remembered to bring the darn travel potty in the first place? Not that we can afford to do this, but I feel like I need multiples of EVERYTHING. Like I have to keep one set of stuff in each car and just always keep it there, never take it out, because if I take it out then I'll forget to put it back in.
And if I forget to bring a snack or water, forget it. MELTDOWN CITY. It doesn't matter if I tell my child she can have water at our destination. (Just be patient, child, says the mother who is the dictionary definition of impatient.) Those are fun car rides.
Mom Fail 3: I lose my patience.
Speaking of patience, I don't do very well in certain situations with my daughter. I'm a fast walker; she's got small legs. Sometimes I feel like I'm pulling her arm out of her socket as we're walking together hand-in-hand, but I literally do not know how to walk any slower. I might as well just stop. And when my daughter is having a meltdown in the car, it's hard for me to empathize with her plight because I'm driving the car and trying to concentrate on driving the car (and listening to the positive and uplifting music of Star 99.1) and all this crying over NOTHING is distracting to me.
Mom Fail 4: I spend too much time on my phone.
It doesn't help that my fitness tracker wearable died, leaving me with no idea how to fix it and no way of telling the time without looking at my phone. Thus, my phone is always with me in my pocket as I'm walking around the house playing with my daughter. "Playing" is a loose term that usually involves me sitting in my kid's room and watching her while she plays. Often, she only wants to interact with me if I'm voicing her Buzz Lightyear action figure. So during the time I'm just sitting there waiting for my cue, I'm bored and I turn to my phone. I don't want her to see me doing it. I don't want her to think that I don't want to "play" with her. But I just can't sit still and be. I'm always thinking of other thing that I need to do. I need to start up a yoga practice again and get back into my "beingness".
Mom Fail 5: I give my daughter too much screen time.
I fully believe that sometimes we moms just gotta do what we gotta do. Did I use Peppa Pig episodes on YouTube to bribe my kid to sit on the potty? Yes. Has she told me she has to pee and then spent 30 minutes sitting on the potty watching Peppa with no pee to show for it? Yes. Does she watch something on TV while eating breakfast in the morning? Yes. But do I need her to sit in her booster seat at the table while her dad finishes getting ready and I head out the door to work? Yes. I try to limit screen time to moments like that, when I just need the TV to occupy her so I can do something, like make dinner or leave for work. I'm always amazed when we have days where the TV doesn't come on once! It is possible and, honestly, those days happen more often than TV days. So I really shouldn't be worrying about it or shaming myself. But I still do.
What about you? What are your top mom fails and have you ever figured out how to turn them around into mom wins?
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