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24/7 on the frontline of humanity
Yes, it’s that time again when we use a quote by a famous person to start a discussion.
It was the Oprah Winfrey show (RIP) and Maria Shriver, the famous Kennedy-blooded, and Schwarzenegger-wedded first lady of California said “…motherhood - 24/7 on the front line of humanity”. And boy, was she right.
The other morning when I fell into rage at my son’s inability to get ready for school in time, I had a less than perfect moment and lost my temper. When I dropped him off, he looked so sad… and I felt so guilty. So I called another mum who told me she’d give him a hug and that I was normal, just as human as everyone else, and it was OK. I can’t tell you how much it helped.
Parenting, as any mother or father will happily tell you (usually in the long version) is one of the most challenging and rewarding roles we may have the great good fortune to experience. It is a role we may find ourselves in without enough preparation, or with too much. It is a part of so many people’s lives but is relatively rarely discussed just how personally challenging it can be to fulfill this place in a child or teen’s life.
I also feel like we all-too-often forget to acknowledge that there are so many kinds of parents in this bag all together (blood parents, foster parents, step parents and adopted parents to name just some).
Speaking with a girlfriend recently, it occurred to us to differentiate between the frustration we feel when our kids don’t listen to us because they’re not listening and the frustration we feel in the same situation, but caused by the fact we are not being heard in other areas of our lives. When is it a behavioural issue in our child, and when is it our own issue? How do we tell the difference?
Though there’s no single answer to these questions, communication always helps. Communicate with your children and teens when you need to, and most of all, communicate with each other.
Useful links
http://www.community.nsw.gov.au/parents_carers_and_families/parenting.html
http://www.naturalparenting.com.au/
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