Parents, give yourself a pat on the back...

I have come to believe that, as parents, we do not give ourselves enough credit - especially us Moms.

We feel loads of guilt - it's an easy emotion...

When your little one gets sick - who do you blame?

You feel guilty because you don't get to spend enough quality time with your kids. You feel guilty because you're not always home at bedtime, or because sometimes you just need some 'me' time, or because for two days you were too exhausted to cook a wholesome meal and gave the kids Pronutro for dinner instead.

Well, stop it!

Pour yourself a glass of wine, sit yourself down and really think about your kids, and the role you have played in getting them to where they are.

Just the fact that you got them through those first 6 weeks of crying, feeding, colic, reflux, constant patting on the back to produce one tiny burp, and 10 nappy changes a day - without packing your bag and jumping on a plane to a remote island, requires at least a pat on the back - and another glass of wine - and a chocolate!

A few weeks ago we took our girls to the Exclusive Books sale - every book-lovers' favourite time of the year! E, was like...well, like a child in a candy store...super-excited! I spent some time with J searching for something suitable, and after much digging E found an awesome book all about Dinosaurs, that she was reluctant to let go of long enough for us to pay for it! We decided to continue the treat and go for dinner before heading home. E couldn't get to the table quick enough, all she wanted to do was explore her new book. Her face was flushed and her eyes were bright. J jumped into her chair and for a full 10 minutes (a long time for my little energiser bunny) didn't move an inch, or say a word. I loved that they loved the books so much, but my "ah-ha" moment had happened while I was showing S all the books I would like, over time, to collect for the girls - we were chatting about how excited the girls were to read their new books when S said "Well my love, that's largely because of you" - and that's when, with much pride in my heart, I decided it was time to give myself a great big pat on the back! Because yes, I've been reading to those munchkins from day one. I love how one can become so totally engrossed in a book that you lose track of your own whereabouts, and it's so important to me that our children learn how wonderful it is to imagine. I've not forced them to read, but to my delight they're both crazy about books and their bedtime story is a major source of excitement for all of us - they get to jump into a world of fantasy, and I get to cuddle up with them and share some quality time.

So stop feeling guilty. Think of all the little things your children love to do, and remember who they learned them from - then give yourself a great big pat on the back! 

Just a few of our favourite books at the moment;

The Lorax, in fact all Dr Seuss books 

The Gruffalo, The Troll, Tyrannosaurus Drip - all by Julia Donaldson

*whisper* E and I are writing a book at the moment - well, she's dictating and I'm writing and then we might have to get her Dad to help out with the illustrating. Will let you know when it's done :-)