Are You a Stressed Out Mom?

Becoming a mom is an incredible gift…. And responsibility.  Our desire to want the best for our kids comes with a healthy dose of worry.  We worry that our kids are healthy and safe, that they are learning and progressing, and that they are happy and secure.  We worry that we aren’t a good enough mom or whether we are making the right decisions for our kids.  We worry that we aren’t parenting the way we see other moms parents and fall into the comparison trap.  We compare our kids to other kids to see how they “stack up.”  Oh, and now we have social media making us think that we are seeing our friend’s “real lives.”  How is it possible to live up to all of that!  

All of this worrying is exhausting!  And, unproductive.  Worrying wastes precious mental energy and takes our time and attention away from doing things that actually are important.  It wears us down and leaves us feeling drained.  And, ironically, it doesn’t do one thing that actually benefits our families.  We lose joy in motherhood and miss out on being present to appreciate the day to day moments. 

I can totally relate, I have been an uptight worrywort who has worked to check my type A tendencies.  When my kids were little I obsessed over everything.  I stressed myself out when they threw a temper tantrum and judged myself that I was a terrible mom because my kid acted this way.  I’m so glad social media wasn’t a thing when my kids were little because I would have fallen into the trap of believing that everyone but me had it all figured out.  

What I know now is that stressed out moms make for stressed out kids.  Worry robs us of joy in life.  Life is not meant to be perfect and neither are our kids.  When we sign up to be parents, we have no idea what kids we are going to get or what road we will travel in the parenting journey.  There will be bumps along the way.  Stuff will happen.  And, it’s okay.  It’s part of the deal.   So wherever you are, on whatever journey you are on, realize that life is too short so we need to let it go, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.