So, recently my husband tagged me in a link on Facebook talking about this secret we all have as parents that is basically killing us. I did not expect it to be so truthful, as I have come across many a parenting post that speaks to these ‘truths’ and ‘secrets’ and they rarely have anything new or mind-blowing to share. However, this article hit home.
Many of us who enter into parenthood, enter with the thought that all those people who supported us during the pregnancy would be just a call away. The reality is that that is not exactly so. Many of us don’t have a village, many of us only have the person who is currently knee-deep in dirty dishes, school lunches and unwashed urine-soaked clothing, to lean on, as we both try not to lose our minds, as a tiny voice (or voices) scream that they are hungry, or thirsty, or bored, or…
This article challenged us as parents to speak our truth to the world and not be ashamed. It is hard to speak that truth when the first response to you saying, “God I need to be on a deserted island for a week alone; away from these children!” is “You are so selfish! So ungrateful! You must not love your child very much if you want to be away from them so desperately!” To which I often think, “I love my child more than you would ever know, the time away would give me the balance I need to allow me to love him and raise him in a way he deserves to be raised; with calmness and respect, as opposed to a raised voice and violence which can/will/may come from an over-stressed human being.”
So take a read and let me know what you think: The Parenting secret that is destroying us
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