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Parents, Support Each Other
How to Show Appreciation to Fellow Moms and Dads
By Amy Dingmann
Children can often act as though parents are their worst enemy. So where can you turn to get the appreciation you deserve as a parent?
"Parenting is one of life's hardest and most rewarding challenges," says Dr. Jeff Richards, a psychiatrist at Health Partners Riverside Clinic in Minneapolis, Minn., and father of two. "Parenting deserves respect and is not to be taken for granted. It's a voyage into unknown waters, full of unpredictable situations. That's why parents need to be learning [from each other] constantly."
Parents teaching, supporting, encouraging and showing appreciation for each other is one of the best ways we can help out! There are several ways we can put these valuable actions into our daily lives.
The first way to begin encouraging and supporting each other as parents is to realize that parenting styles differing from our own are not necessarily wrong.
"I always have to keep reminding myself that different children need different parenting techniques," says Amy Jackson, mother of seven children from Big Lake, Minn.
"We need to step back and acknowledge that not every parent we come in contact with is in the same situation as we are," says Pamela Wilhelm, mother of three from Rockmart, Ga. "Every parent is dealing with different resources, support systems, issues within their family, differences in children. Each family has different values and priorities, and it makes sense that to be supportive of each other, we take these things into consideration without being judgmental."
Do you ever feel like your life's motto is "When I do something right, no one notices. When I do something wrong, no one forgets?" It may sometimes feel that the only thing other parents notice are the mistakes we make.
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