10 things to not feel guilty about

There is so much pressure to be the perfect parent but here are 10 things that all parents do but feel guilty about for absolutely no reason! Remember, you have to survive before you can thrive.

image source [1]

1. Feeding your kids shmum food (e.g chicken nuggets, freezer food) – it’s all about balance and getting food in their bellies! Bonus benefit – you get to eat the leftovers.

2. Sticking your kids in front of a screen – screen time quality is more important than anything. As long as you are providing them with age appropriate content, stick them on a screen so you can have 10 minutes to yourself or get something done around the house.

3. Not doing arts and crafts – social media dictates that the perfect parent has to do an array of arts and crafts. It’s not for everyone and cleaning up mass amounts of glitter is not how anyone wants to spend their weekend. You are the parent and get to choose how to stimulate your child – no one else!

4. Pretending to be asleep – when your kid cries in the night so your other half goes. We ALL do it!

5. Not entertaining your kids at the weekends or holidays – time is precious and there is a pressure to provide your children with constant educational and stimulating activities to nurture them. However, studies show that being bored can promote your children to be independent and creative. So don’t feel that pressure to constantly entertain – they can create a whole world with a bedsheet fort and some toys without you!

6. Spending time away from your kids – we all love our children more than life itself, however, they are very demanding and exhausting. Recharge your batteries so you can give parenting your all!

7. Not having a tidy IG worthy house – THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH CHILDREN AROUND. The mess can make your eye twitch but having a system where you can pop it away in a box after they go to bed means you can pretend you have a tidy house in the evenings or just leave it out and enjoy the fact that everyone has had a busy day!

8. Pretending to have a poo – 10 minutes alone in a bathroom is like going on holiday; who would have thought it could be so reviving on a busy day!

9. To not like them sometimes – even though you love them dearly, sometimes they can be so mean! Just remember they are testing boundaries and tomorrow is a new day.

10. Finally, NEVER FEEL GUILTY for satisfying basic human needs – it’s OK to feel like you’re “neglecting” the kids (you’re not being neglectful, it just feels like it) to have a shower, eat a warm meal or clean the house!