"Am I a Useless Parent?" Why There's no "pass" or "Fail" in Parenting

Am I doing ok in parenting? Am I failing in this thing that matters so much? Did I mess this whole thing up? If you come in search of answers in parenting and you find an approach that speaks to you, do you feel a higher pressure to "succeed" - in the approach and in your parenting? So many of us ask this! And, from reading your thoughtful posts and comments, we see many of us worry that we are failing in Hand in Hand, or failing in parenting as a whole.   Well, we have news for you, beautiful parents.  You are failing nothing!    Counting Wins not Fails in Parenting This week Abigail and Elle are talking about how we should be counting our wins differently, creating a mindset that asks why, and that can be celebrated.  We talk about finding the magic in good parenting tools - and then feeling lousy when we don't or can't use them well: What if you know it helps to listen to your child calmly when they whine but instead you get filled with rage? What if you know it helps to set limits closely but you still yell them out from the other room? What if you know that play helps you connect but you are just too darn tired? Well, what if you started asking why those things felt wrong, or hard, or odd for you? And what if you could count that as your win instead? Because, guess what? You are never failing in parenting!  Join Abigail and Elle this week as they talk about addressing feelings of stress and failure in parenting, and how you can work past them. There's even a song about those horrible, no good, very bad days from Abigail!*   More Resources When You Feel You are Failing As a Parent Get this free guide with Five Ideas That Make Parenting Less Stressful Get a listening partner! We can't say this enough! Listening Partners are the place where you can go to get relief when you are filled with doubt and worry, have questions and want solutions. This is the place you figure out your parenting journey. Learn more about Listening Partnerships here.  Did you know our book Listen: Five Simple Tools To Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges is available on audio? Take five minutes out and listen to a sample here keep connected We’d love to hear about your parenting challenges. You can follow Hand in Hand on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Be sure to drop Elle and Abigail a message Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter