Parenting is So Challenging

I always say that I feel better as a mom, when I see another mother's child throwing a temper tantrum or otherwise acting up. It restores my perspective on my own offspring. This morning, a friend of my younger son was lifted onto the sidewalk by his father at school. His father then drove away after some reassuring glances from we mothers on the sidewalk nearby. His son stood defiantly refusing to go into school even when another mother talked with him and attempted to encourage him to go inside. His dad returned minutes later and soon the boy was being escorted into the school by his dad and the principal.

As I walked home from dropping off my boys I recalled the drama that had unfolded at our house this morning. It ended with me screaming at the top of my lungs for my son to get his socks while he pleaded that he was scared to go into his room alone to get them. I apologized to him before school and all the anger had melted when we saw some friends to walk to school with. Walking to school this year has been so good for all of us. We have a chance to work through the emotions of the morning before my boys go into school and before I start my day. It is such a good way to connect with those in our own family and in the neighborhood. We are so blessed to live in a place where this experience is possible.

I hadn't intended for this to be a lecture on the virtues of walking to school. Instead, I meant to tackle the challenges that face parents daily. How to we get our children to do the things they have to do, even when they don't want to? How do we balance the power struggles between children growing up and parents still being responsible for keeping them safe? How do we teach them to be kind, responsible people who are self reliant and caring at the same time? It's hard and it's a job that's done day by day, one temper tantrum at a time.