It’s okay for parents to get it right only half of the time

When it comes to parenting, we need only get it right half the time according to research published in the journal Child Development, by Dr. Susan Woodhouse.

I can certainly get on board with this considering, like most parents, I’m pulled from hour to hour, room to room, fridge to whatever press the biscuits are in, by two ever-demanding kids.

Since becoming a mum, my idea about parenthood has changed rapidly from the ill-conceived and ill-prepared thoughts I had when I was first pregnant. I had expected to be an easy-going mum who recycled the ice pop sticks to make finger puppets to entertain a pre-walker with imaginative stories about castles and dragons. I expected to know what every cry meant, how to magically heal cut knees and make the most delicious, healthy purees even an adult would drool over. I swore I wouldn’t get angry, frustrated or anxious over the little things like two-hour waking’s at 3am or a toddler who wanted to eat all day, but not the food I was serving up. I would know exactly what my children needed and never get it wrong, because getting it wrong would mean I was failing, and I wasn’t going to fail.

Six years into this parenting dynamic and I have got it wrong more times than I can count.