Why I Would Make A Terrible Parent For Your Kids

I am the best mom my kids have ever had. Granted I'm the only mom they've ever had, but still, I'm pretty awesome.

For starters, I know everything about them.

• I know exactly which foods they will eat and which ones they will throw on the floor while giggling. 
• I know all the words to their favorite songs and can keep them entertained for hours (usually by chasing them in circles around the living room).
• I also know when they are most likely to get in trouble and how to convince them to obey. 
• I know all their bumps and bruises and funny little quirks. I know them backwards, forwards, inside and out. 

Secondly, I know how to comfort them. I've been here from day 1, before day 1 actually.

I am comfort to them. My very presence on a dark night is all that's needed to soothe their fear and help them sleep. A kiss from me can heal most hurts, and my undivided attention is sure to bring a smile. 

But mostly, I love my kids fiercely, and that's what makes me the VERY BEST mom they could ever have. 

It would also make me a terrible parent for your kid. Because let's face it: Your kid doesn't need me; they need you. 

Sometimes we like to define our success by the way we parent.

Formula or breastfed? 

Mom at home or at work? 

Attachment parenting or sleep training?  

Organic food or french fries?

Gentle parenting or all out spanking? 

Vaccines or natural medicine? 

Homeschool or public school? 

In this day and age, it seems the parenting options are pretty much limitless, and with the advent of the internet we are constantly bombarded with person after person (bloggers, experts, and fellow moms) telling us "the best" way of doing EVERYTHING! 

It can be kind of intimidating, even for a confident mom like myself. 

Now please, don't get me wrong. I think all of the decisions we make as parents have consequences, good and bad. These decisions matter, but they aren't what matter most. 

What makes you a good mom isn't the way you choose to parent, but rather that you are parenting at all. 

• The fact that you get up each morning and greet the day head on, whatever challenges it may hold... 
• The fact that you tuck your child in at night, and then tuck them in again and again because they really, really need just one more kiss...
• The fact that you get up at 2 am to throw a clean towel down so your sick child doesn't have to sleep in their own vomit...
• The fact that you still laugh (albeit somewhere forced) at the one and only joke your preschooler knows...

Those are the things that make YOU the best mom for your kids. 

The bond you share with your child is uniquely and wholly yours. You know your child better and love them more than anyone else, and that means something. In fact, it means everything. 

We can try to make the best decisions we can for our kids, but I'm convinced that in the end the best gift we can give our children is simply ourselves. 

Love is giving up what I want, so I can give my kids what they need. It's being patient when I am tired, and kind when I am angry. It's teaching them all the good things I know and helping them learn from my mistakes. 

Every day I get up and love my kids the best way I know how, and then I pray that God will give me the strength to love them more. 

And that's enough. It's what makes me an amazing mom for my children.

I bet it's what makes you pretty awesome too.