How to Parent Right: 7 Ways You are Doing it Right
In the modern world, parenting is a paradox. It’s a timeless and natural human task that we’ve done for millennia. It has also become one of today’s most scrutinized, analyzed, and critiqued roles.
You’ll find contradictory advice about raising children everywhere you look: on social media, in parenting books, and even on expert panels of daytime TV. Don’t feed them that, but this. Set firm boundaries, but give them the freedom to do what they want. Do not ignore your children, but don’t be a helicopter parent either. It is exhausting and impossible to keep up.
What if parenting was never meant to be this complicated? What if it’s just that we overthought everything to oblivion?.
There’s one simple truth that’s often buried beneath all the advice: As long as your children are safe, healthy, and happy in general, you’re doing good parenting.
Do you still need to be reassured? Let’s take a closer look. Here are 7 things that you probably already do to prove beyond doubt that you are not only a “good” parent, but you’re crushing it.
1. You Let Your Children Get Dirty. That’s Great!
There is constant flip-flopping about germs in today’s ultra-sanitized society. In today’s hyper-sanitized world, there is constant flip-flopping advice about germs.
Let’s cut the noise. Dirt is not the enemy. A dirty childhood is part of the fun. Mud pies, grassy legs, and sticky popsicles are all part of the experience. It’s not only part of their sensory growth, but science also suggests that exposure to everyday bacteria helps kids’ immune system.
Don’t worry if your child looks like they have rolled on a compost pile when he or she comes home. Smile. This is evidence of a happy childhood. They played, ran, and explored. They were able to touch life. They will eventually take a shower.
Let’s face it: you are not the only one who has skipped handwashing before dinner. Getting your children to the table was already a Herculean task. Your parenting skills are not determined by the hand sanitizer you use.
Bottom Line: Mud and mild grime are a childhood staple. Let them live. You are doing the right thing.
2. You Provide Some Sort of Meal Every Night (yes, that counts)
The anxiety about feeding children is never-ending. Even the most passionate home cook could be crushed by these expectations.
Let’s realign the goalposts: You prepared a meal. You’ve put it on the dinner table. You’re doing great.
Your effort to feed your children counts, whether it is a frozen pizza with carrot sticks or homemade lasagna served with a salad. It’s great to have variety and nutrition, but kids aren’t spreadsheets. Children are human beings. They’re human beings.
Let’s not forget that getting them to eat can be a battle in itself. You haven’t failed if your five-year-old only eats a corner of broccoli after 15 minutes. You’ve parented.
While you can’t make them eat by force, you can give them the chance to do so. And you are doing that.
PSA: Cereal for dinner? Still counts.
3. You Can Pack a Basic, Non-Instagrammable School Lunch
The designer lunchbox is here to stay. Lunch-packing is now a competition thanks to Pinterest and YouTube moms: dinosaur-shaped sandwich, sushi roll, color-coded sections, motivational notes… It’s exhausting to just look at.
In the real world, you may be grabbing a sandwich, an orange, and any available snack bare, sometimes just five minutes before school starts.
What’s that? It’s okay.
Children don’t require gourmet meals to thrive. They need fuel. You may not get any points for aesthetics online, but a peanut butter sandwich, a banana, and refillable water bottles will do the trick. You are not trying to impress anyone online; you’re just trying to make sure your child is fed and gets to school on time. This is real parenting.
You can brown bag that mustard sandwich. It won’t hurt you or your children.
4. You Send Your Kids to the Local State School
Today, there is a lot of pressure to find the “perfect” school. Parents may begin researching schools before their child is born. Parents obsess about rankings, special programs, and reputations. They also look for uniforms to make their kids look like little CEOs.
The majority of local schools are fine.
It’s not necessary to have a Latin program or a robotics lab for your child to get off on the right foot. Teachers in the neighborhood schools are professionals. Community is real. You can get to work quickly. All of these are wins.
Yes, education is important. But it’s more than just the building and the test scores. It’s all about encouraging, engaging, and creating a safe, supportive learning environment. You’ve already achieved success if your child walks to school, waves at their teacher, and has friends for recess.
Congratulations if you have enrolled your child in the nearby school without giving it a second glance. You are parenting with confidence and clarity.
5. Your Kids’ Rooms are a Disaster
It’s a fact: nobody has the energy or time to keep their home showroom clean every day. The bedrooms of children often look like a mix between a thrift-store explosion and a LEGO snowfall. That’s normal.
Some families swear that they make their beds and clean up the rooms each morning. If that’s just not you, then don’t be guilty. It’s not your fault if you have a messy room. A messy room is often a sign that your child is playing and experimenting in their own space.
You’ll be on top of things if you clean out your home twice a year, or right before visiting relatives. Pro tip: Close the door, and then move on to your day. You’ll be amazed at how effective this strategy is for your mental peace.
6. You Eat Dinner in Front of the TV Sometimes (Welcome To Sanity)
It’s very common to feel pressured into having dinner at the table every night with meaningful conversation and eye contact. It’s a nice idea, but in reality, it’s not always the case.
Even if you’re watching Family Feud while eating spaghetti from your lap, it can be the best way to “connect”.
It’s okay to zone out in front of the screen, eow and again. It can bring people together in an odd way. There are no arguments, no dinner-table negotiations, and no awkward silences. Just a rest from all the effort.
Sharing meals without screens has its value. Evenings spent in quiet company while watching a sitcom are also valuable. Do not let the perfectionist parenting culture steal your calm.
7. You’re Too Busy to Sweat the Small Stuff (and that’s a good sign)
Parenting is a triage operation. You could do 100 things, but you simply don’t have time to do them all. This doesn’t mean you are negligent, but it does make you more efficient.
You’ve won if your child shows up to school wearing mismatched socks and with toothpaste on his face because you wanted 30 minutes’ peace to pack the lunches.
You gave priority to what was important: they are fed, dressed (sort of), and in the right place. It’s all about prioritizing what matters: they are fed, dressed (sort of), and where they need to be.
Micromanaging every situation only leads to stress. Sometimes the best thing for your family to do is choose calm over control.
You are doing it right!
Many of us, in our quest to be “perfect” parents, lose sight of the reality that parenting is not a performance. It’s about a relationship. It’s an engagement. It’s an ugly, long, and beautiful journey. And it’s not about a Pinterest board or a gold medal.
Remember this the next time that you start to doubt yourself because you forgot to pack kale in your child’s school lunch or let them watch cartoons an hour too much.
Your parenting is not adequate if your children are happy, healthy, and safe. You’re right.
