What Does It Take To Be A Perfect Parent?

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Its Monday! You know what that means: time for Mama’s Music Mantra! Today’s song pick: Perfect by Pink. I have a feeling every mama will relate to this one… So turn up the speakers, click play, and read on!

Mantra: “Pretty pretty please,

Don’t you ever ever feel,

Like you’re less than, less than perfect”.

One of the things I soon learned after giving birth was to get comfortable with the fact that there is no single resource that society can agree upon as having the best parenting advice. And there is definitely no shortage of conflicting advice coming at new mothers from all angles either. For me, it started as soon as the word was out about my pregnancy. Family, friends, strangers, and the internet would put in their two cents about hot topics like first foods,

cloth vs. disposable diapers, breastfeeding, sleep training, at what age she should drive…

Ok maybe that topic hasn’t surfaced quite yet but I’m sure that will come up in the future.

All these decisions will impact the quality of her life in a big way and so I don’t want to be anything less than the perfect mother. Similarly, most who give me their advice do so in the hopes that I will be their definition of the perfect parent. After all, every child deserves the best. The problem is, all this input into my parenting process is a bit overwhelming, to say the least. Ok let’s be honest, there are times I felt like plugging my ears and singing nursery rhymes loud enough to drown out the noise.  I wasn’t sure who’s advice to take, whose to take offense to, and who’s to turn down.

Then my dad pointed out all I ever needed to know to be the perfect mother to Tiana: be  sincere. It’s that simple. That two-word phrase takes care of every parenting topic under the sun.  Worries about her future, guilt of past parenting hiccups, and the critics at every corner will try to convince you that it’s a lot more complicated. But really, as long as the decisions involving your baby come from a place where you truly believe that that is what is best for her/him, you are the perfect mama.

I’m sure you’ve felt the pressure to fit other people’s definitions of a perfect mother. How do you deal with the criticisms?