7 Reasons to Drop the Fantasy of Being a Perfect Mom ...

The truth is that nobody’s perfect. When you are focused on being a perfect mom, you are aiming for something that isn’t possible. It is very possible to be a wonderful mother in many different ways, but perfection is an unattainable standard. It is best to let go of that fantasy. Once you do, you will most likely find that you enjoy motherhood so much more.

Trying to be perfect in anything is stressful. Wanting to do your best is wonderful, but if you decide to stress over the tiniest of mistakes, you are doing yourself a disservice. It isn’t worth the stress you are putting on yourself. Be happy and confident in being the mother that you are. Forgive yourself for those tiny little flubs and move on.

Our family suffers when we stress ourselves out, too. They end up stressed right along with us, which isn’t good. We actually are taking away from the mothers we truly are and can be when we are when we stress everyone out about our goal for perfection. One of the best things you can do for your family is just relax and be yourself. This makes everyone happier.

When you are so focused on one area of your life, you become unbalanced. This is not a good thing. Being a mother is a very important position and should be one of our top priorities, but it is not good to focus only on that. You may be a wife, a girlfriend, a daughter, a sister or an employee. All of those are positions need attention and effort, too.

I truly believe that our children need to learn that their parents are real people who make mistakes, too. While we should always strive to do our best, there will be times we fall short. We can choose to use those times as teaching opportunities with them. If we do something wrong, it is okay to apologize to your children. It restores your relationship and helps them to see that you are a real person just like they are.

The idea of perfection is a burden because we know how impossible it is to reach. It is better to have a goal of making progress in areas of motherhood that are a struggle for you. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Give yourself some grace. Realize that as long as you are moving in the right direction, you are doing great.

I have always told my children that I don’t expect perfection out of them in anything they do, but I do expect them to do their best. If their best means that they get a B or a C in a class that is difficult for them, that’s okay. This same principle should apply to us as mothers, not that we are on a grading scale, but you get the point. We should put our focus on being the best mothers we can be but allow ourselves room for a few imperfections. Our best is good enough.

Have you fallen into the fantasy of trying to reach perfect mom status? I think that most of us have from time to time. I would love to hear how you worked through that and what helped you.