For every moment I’ve felt like a stellar mom, there are ten instances where I’ve doubted my ability to handle this whole parenting thing. Raising children is undeniably stressful. I often worry—perhaps irrationally—that a single misstep could lead them down a path of unhappiness and dysfunction.
However, I remind myself that my minor mistakes, no matter how monumental they seem at the moment, are unlikely to inflict any real, lasting harm. Just like any profession, perfection isn’t attainable, and blunders are bound to occur.
One time, I accidentally bumped my newborn’s head against a door frame while walking through. There was also that unfortunate incident when my toddler’s fingers got caught in the car window. I ignored my son’s warnings about his stinky jacket, sending him off to school in it, only to find out later that our cat had peed on it. There was a two-day span when my little one wandered around with a broken wrist before I finally took him to the doctor (in my defense, it didn’t look swollen at all). Most recently, during a neighborhood gathering, we took a solid half-hour to realize our preschooler had been left at home. Oops.
Over the nearly 12 years of parenting four kids, I’ve had my fair share of mishaps. But I’m not alone in this journey. I asked several remarkable mothers to share their own “mom fails,” and here’s what they had to say:
- “My son lost his first tooth while with me all day, and I didn’t even notice!”
- “When my youngest was 3, I bought a 12-pack of beer with my groceries. My daughter loudly announced in the store, ‘Mom, are you drinking that beer all by yourself tonight, or is someone else coming over to help you with that?’”
- “I let my 3-year-old use the Wi-Fi to play an online game, not realizing he had one-click purchasing access. Suddenly, my phone was buzzing with Amazon purchase alerts.”
- “I told my 8-year-old, ‘Sure, go ahead and catch a squirrel,’ fully expecting him to fail. He came home with two wild squirrels, and one bit him.”
- “The one assembly I forgot to attend was the day my daughter won both Student of the Month and Artist of the Month. She’s never won two awards since, so now I make it a point to attend every assembly, just in case.”
- “When my son was about 2, he quietly climbed out of his crib and popped the screen out of his bedroom window. I received a call from my brother saying, ‘I think your kid is dangling out the window.’ He was…”
- “I thought my daughter’s birthday party was at 1 PM but it was actually at noon. We arrived just as it wrapped up, and she was in tears.”
- “My sister once had stomach cramps, and my mom assumed she was faking to avoid chores. Hours later, we found out her appendix was about to burst.”
- “Driving home with the music blasting, I glanced back to see my 4-year-old praying.”
- “After a month of my 4-year-old saying his foot hurt, I finally checked. A shard of glass was embedded so deep that we had to go to a surgeon for removal!”
- “My son lost a tooth at my parents’ house and managed to keep it under his pillow for a month without me realizing it. I felt awful—he’d been waiting for the tooth fairy!”
- “I once locked my twin daughters in the car while they were strapped in their seats. The spare key was in my purse, which was also in the car. I had to call the dealership for a new key.”
- “I told my 7-year-old I would pick him up from school instead of him taking the bus. I forgot, and the school had to call me.”
- “In a rush at the shopping center, I slammed the car door, grabbed both kids’ hands, and said impatiently, ‘Let’s go!’ My daughter didn’t move—her fingers were stuck in the door.”
- “I inadvertently left my son at Walmart when he was about 12. Halfway home, I counted kids and realized he was still playing games at the front entrance!”
- “My daughter and son-in-law once mixed up their pickup schedule. She picked up the baby, and neither realized their older child wasn’t collected. They both called the daycare at the same time, confused.”
- “One night, I fell asleep early on the couch, and when my husband came home, our 2-year-old was sitting in a chair with a bottle of Boone’s Farm wine between his legs. Mortified doesn’t even begin to describe it!”
- “I sent my first-grader to school dressed as Hulk Hogan, complete with a mustache and muscles, for ‘Favorite Celebrity Day.’ I later found out it was actually the following Wednesday!”
See? Every mom has her story. So next time you feel like you’re completely failing at this parenting thing, remember that you’re definitely not alone. You can also comfort yourself by checking out some great tips on boosting fertility through this helpful blog post.
And if you’re looking for some delicious non-alcoholic drink ideas during pregnancy, check out this resource. For additional information on pregnancy and home insemination, visit Medical News Today—an excellent resource.
At least we can all share a good laugh when we realize our kids are doing just fine despite our blunders.
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