I laughed to myself as I patted my boys on the head on the way to the shower and said, “Try not to fight while I’m in the shower”.
My very next thought was, “How cute of me to be so optimistic”
The truth is, as parents, we are sometimes a little naively optimistic about lots of things. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, maybe it’s naivety, whatever it is, it is cute of us to be so hopeful when we really should know better.
But, the truth is, I think this optimism is the ultimate survival skill for new (and experienced parents) to keep doing what we do everyday. Because if we gave up all hope, that would be a little depressing. And, I’m not sure I could get out of bed in the mornings.
Here are 20 lies parents tell themselves in an effort to be a little overly optimistic because it’s the survival skill every parent needs to keep from going insane:
1. We tell ourselves showering while the kids are awake is a good idea.
2. We think playdates at our own house are a good idea.
3. We think going out to eat with any child under the age of 5 is a good idea. And it will all be fiiiine.
4. We tell ourselves that it will be OK to let them stay up past their bedtime just this once.
5. We think potty training will be easy this time because kid number 1 potty trained in one day.
6. We tell ourselves something will be easier this time because, “I’m more experienced”.
7. We tell ourselves the 3yo will eat something again just because he did last time.
8. We think we can be on time places.
9. We say, “My kids will never do that.”
10. We think, “I will NOT become my mother.”
11. We tell ourselves we will sleep again at some point.
12. We think the next stage will be easier.
13. We think there is such a thing as running a quick errand with 3 kids in tow.
14. We tell ourselves our lives won’t change once we have kids.
15. We think pregnancy will come naturally to us.
16. We say, “I won’t wear sweats all day when I become a stay at home mom”
17. We think my kid won’t be the…mean one, weird one, crazy one.
18. We tell ourselves helping my kids with their homework can’t be that hard.
19. We tell ourselves the teenage years will be easier than the toddler years.
20. We say, “What’s one more kid?”
What’s another thing you tell yourself to survive?
Oh my word, #4 about bedtime? Yes, yes, and OH NO.
Right now I’m telling myself that one day I can leave them at home alone without paying the big bucks on a babysitter!
We can all hope and pray!
Optimism. It’s how parents keep doing their thing every day.