The 10 Biggest Mistakes I’ve Made as a Mom

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Let’s face it, no matter how wonderful our parents were, we always want to be better when we have our own kids. We look at the past and say, I will be different. When I have kids I won’t…

But then, we make the same mistakes we hoped to avoid, or we make all new ones.

So, here it is…

The 10 Biggest Mistakes I’ve made as a Mom.

It’s real… it’s unedited… it’s the unvarnished truth because we’ve all been there.

#1 – The Yelling

No matter how many times I tell myself I won’t raise my voice again, eventually it happens anyway. Either I’m overstressed or the kiddos have pushed to the limits. Either way, every time it happens, I can’t help but feel like a terrible mom.

The only thing I can do is resolve to do better each and every day and model the type of mom I want to be for my kids, the type of mom I want them to remember and the type of mom I want them to one day be for their own kids. And, in the meantime, I’ll try to give myself a little grace too.

#2- The Repeating

I would love to be the type of mom who can say things once and her kids not only do what they’re supposed to but do it with a smile but the truth is that more often than not, I end up repeating myself two, three, or even four times before anything gets done. By the time it’s over I’m stressed, frustrated and aggravated and then see #1!

To beat this problem, I’m working more on allowing my girls to experience the consequences of their actions (or inactions). So, if they don’t pick up their toys like they were asked, they now lose them for 24 hours rather than me telling them repeatedly to pick up until I feel crazy. I’ll let you know how it works… Pray for me.

#3 – The Sleep Mistakes

With my oldest, my husband and I were very deliberate in her sleep training and she slept through the night from the time she was 18 months (we brought her home from South Korea right before she turned one).

When our second daughter was born, we let a lot of things slip, including sleep arrangements. And, yes you guessed it… she ended up sleeping with us. She’s now four and we’ve just finally gotten her back into her own bed for the whole night long. If I could do it over, I would and then maybe we would all be better rested.

#4 – The Food Issues

Once again, this is a first versus second child thing for me.

My oldest daughter has always been a great eater. She not only isn’t picky, she’ll also try pretty much anything. I can still remember her eating escargot and mussels when she was just two and she still eats them to this day.

My youngest on the other hand started out well but slowly decided she didn’t like anything and I made the mistake of letting it happen. Not only did I not make her try more foods, I let the foods she ate day to day dwindle down to an embarrassingly small variety.

In fact, we’re down to chicken (in any form from grilled to nuggets), fruits (strawberries, grapes, apples, bananas and peaches mainly), fish sticks (yes, I know they aren’t healthy), waffles, pancakes, peanut butter, cereals, oatmeal and just a few other items.

Luckily, I realize this is something I do have a level of control over and can start changing. That’s why we’ve set a new rule that the little munchkin has to try one bite of a new food each day. It’s come with some tears along the way but as long as we stand strong, it seems to be working.

If you have any ideas on how to help with this, I’d love to hear them.

#5 – The No’s

I always wanted to be that mom who was always smiling and happy and fun to be around. I’ve found that I’ve ended up being the “No” mommy. I say “no” way more often than “yes” and that’s something I really want to change.

So, I’ve decided instead of saying “No, you can’t do…”, I’m going to try saying, “Yes, you can do that if…” or “You can do this instead…”.

#6 – Family Mealtime Fails

I love the old TV shows like Father Knows Best where everyone sits around the dinner table and talks about their day as a family.

For us, the reality is much different. More often than not, we eat in front of the television instead of at the dinner table and often not even at the same time. It’s easier no doubt but I know it’s not my goal.

So, we’ve decided to start small. Three times a week we have to eat at the dinner table together no matter what. It’s going to take some work to fit it in between school work, martial arts for my oldest and all of the thousand other commitments but I know it can be done.

#7 – Too Much Helping

Unlike with #3 and #4, this is a mistake I made with my oldest rather than youngest…

We helped her too much! Way too much!

From getting her dressed and making her bed to cutting up her food and wiping her little tooshie. My husband and I did everything for her and it shows. She still asks for help to do even the small things and she’s nine.

With our youngest, we just didn’t have as much time and gave her much more independence. Now, at just four, she does so much more for herself than her sister does.

With that in mind, we are trying to show instead of do for our older daughter now and hopefully over time, she will become more independent too.

#8 – Not Enough Reading

Although I taught both of my daughters to read at the age of four, I’ve definitely failed at spending enough time reading TO them. I always intend to do more but by the end of the day, I’m tired and ready to just relax and it’s so easy to turn on the television instead.

I plan to read at least one small book a day with my youngest from now on though and let my oldest read a chapter a day to me.

By the way, if you’re looking for an easy way to teach your kiddo to read, I highly recommend The Reading Lesson: Teach Your Child to Read in 20 Easy Lessons. I used it for both my daughters and it offers simple, step-by-step instruction that takes only a few minutes a day to help your child start reading fast.

#9 – Too Many Choices

Children need to learn to make choices but I know that I often give my girls way too many, especially when it comes to food. I think in a lot of ways this makes them appreciate the things they have less and I worry that they won’t learn gratefulness.

We’ve started limiting the choices we give to two. It’s really hard to stick with because the kiddos are so used to an unlimited number but we are doing better about it.

#10 – Guilt

And, here’s the biggie…

Mommy guilt. I feel guilty about every mistake I’ve made as a mom that I’ve talked about here and so much more. I know that I don’t give myself enough grace.

I’m always going to make mistakes but I love my kids and would do anything for them. That means that no matter what, I’m a good mom. So, I’m going to try to do a little better each day and not beat myself up when I fail.

We all make mistakes as parents. Being a mom is the hardest, full-time plus job in the world so no matter what fails you think you’ve had, give yourself some grace as well. As long as you keep trying and keep loving your kids, you’re a great mom!

If you’re looking for a little more happiness and motivation, check out these posts too:

If you’re looking for a little more happiness and motivations, check out these posts too:

What to Do When Life Throws You a Curveball – How to Deal With Things that Don’t Turn Out Like You Expect

10 Ways to Get Motivated when You’re Tired, Frustrated and Ready to Give Up

The 28 Most Important Things My Kids Taught Me

Three Crazy Simple Tools for Dealing with Depression and Anxiety – What I Learned from the Mom Conference

And as always, I wish you a strong family, optimal health and smart incomes.