Parents You Don’t Have to Be Perfect

Guess what? Nobody’s perfect! We all know that, right? So, if we so easily accept that nobody’s perfect as a truism then why do we get down on ourselves as parents so much when we make mistakes?

I know… I can already hear you… The stakes are much higher now when we make mistakes as parents because we have children who will suffer the consequences. Well, let me throw this out there. There have been children for as long as there have been humans. And throughout all of the history of human existence I can guarantee you that there has never been a perfect parent to any of the world’s children. However, despite the fact that there has never been a perfect parent, kids somehow continue to be born and then grow up into adults who do okay generation after generation.

One just needs to look at the population growth of the last several thousand years to see what I’m talking about. We came from as a species with limited survival skills to today with a population of about seven billion people. We inhabit every corner of the globe and have climbed to the top of the food chain everywhere. This, in itself, is overwhelming evidence that human parents have done more than just a few things right. We have obviously done a lot right to get to where we are today.

Now notice that I said we have done a lot right and not everything right. We are humans and we have the capacity for amazing things, but always being right and always being perfect isn’t one of them. So give yourself a break and realize that you’re not perfect, and neither is anyone else on this great big planet.

Now, as my Granddaddy always said, “Go learn, lead, and lay the way to a better world for all of us.” Remember, we’re not expected to be perfect. And if we were perfect that would be kind of weird, wouldn’t it? And once again parents, thanks in advance for all that you do, and all that you will do…

Daniel Blanchard is a New Britain Schoolteacher who is a bestselling and award-winning author, speaker, and educator. Learn more about Dan at: www.GranddaddysSecrets.com