She slid a paper in front of my face. It said two words:
“Bad Mom”
I asked her why she thought I was a bad mom. She grabbed the paper, hurrying to jot down a few more words.
“Your a bad mom”
Again, I wanted to hear from her own six year-old self why she thought I was being “bad”.
“Your mean”
If I can be honest here–the note didn’t bother me one bit. A very small part of me was impressed that she’d chosen to write down her feelings, rather than yelling and screaming. My girl was entitled to her view on the situation. I chose to disagree without fighting back.
It was in working to be a “good mom” that she thought I was “bad”.
In my heart and mind, a good mom is one who stays consistent. Who works through the obstacles to teach her children the importance and necessity of listening. The mother who doesn’t ignore rude behaviour, nor tolerate cut corners with certain actions. There are behaviours that are completely unacceptable for all age groups. There was no way that I wanted my daughter to grow up practicing these habits and turning people off everywhere she goes. That would be horrendous to her social skills.
That day, I refused to let her keep ignoring me. What’s more, I refused to put up with the huffing, puffing and groaning when she was giving a directive. There’s no need to stamp your feet in response to “please tidy up the living room floor”. Especially when it’s her toys strewn all over the place.
Moms, don’t quit! Don’t give up. It’s conceding to the negative behaviour, the rudeness, the ignorance, that makes us “bad moms”.
When you’re trying your best and working through the hard times?
You’re indeed a “good mom”.
How have you battled against the good and bad labels?