Parenting is Hard, Let’s Uplift Each Other!

Disclosure: I’m a Sisterhood of Motherhood Partner and am a sponsored blog partner, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.

 Parenting comes with it’s highs and lows, which is why it’s so important for us to be supportive of each other as parents. Sometimes it’s all tickles and play-doh but other times it’s tantrums and having sippy cups thrown at you.  Offering support to another mom, or an unexpected compliment, can make all the difference! When was a time when you were having a “bad” mom moment and someone offered you unexpected encouragement?

For me it was that one night at Cracker Barrel. My husband often travels for work, and sometimes is gone for the whole week.  During one particularly long trip he took- two weeks last fall- I decided to take a break and take my son out to dinner.  After all, we got out to lunch all the time to Chick-fil-a and the mall food court, so what’s the difference, right?

Boy was I wrong!  We ordered dinner and the waitress brought him a juice box.  Not only was he loud because he didn’t want to sit the high chair, he thought it was funny to squeeze the juice box and watch the juice come out the top.  I tried to get him to stop but the result of this was him turning it upside down and squeezing the whole thing out on the floor next to our table!  The people next to us were not amused, and I was super embarrassed.  They spent the whole dinner glaring at us.

Then our food came, and he proceeded to start throwing fries all around.  After one of his fries hit another waitress, I just started crying.  I felt like I horrible mom!  The waitress came over to see how our food was.  She took one look at my face and quietly said “I’ll bring your check.” I was thankful, I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible!

The people next to us had left and were replaced by a sweet elderly couple.  Thankfully they thought my son’s antics were hilarious and began gushing about “how cute he is!”  They didn’t even mind have crayons thrown at their table.  Their whole attitude towards the situation changed it for the better. They didn’t have to be so nice, give compliments and pick up thrown crayons, but they did!  They saw I was struggling and gave support and it made all the difference.  Even though I still cried all the drive home, I will still remember their kindness.

So what’s the point?  We don’t always know what someone else is going through and sometimes we are too quick to judge!  If you see another mom struggling, a show of support can go a really long way to turning the situation around!  Offer a genuine smile, compliment or pick up that dropped shopping bag.  Let’s uplift each other as parents, every little bit counts!

Do you have a similar story to my Cracker Barrel story?  Did your kids throw fries at the waitress? When was a time someone else helped you or gave you an uplifting word? Share your story and let’s offer support to our fellow parents!

I am excited to announce that this spring I am partnering with Similac to promote their Sisterhood of Motherhood program!  The purpose of this program is to empower moms by encouraging people to:

• Accept: Get the world to accept that no one should be judging anyone’s parenting choices
• Unite: Unite together behind this idea.
• Support: Support each others choices as parents.

The point of the Sisterhood of Motherhood is to show that although we may be different in our journey and parenting choices, we are all parents who can support each other and lift each other up, despite any disagreements we may have. We are all in this together!  I think the video Similac created to promote this campaign says it best- have you seen it?

Similac partnered with bloggers such as me for its Sisterhood of Motherhood Program. As part of this program, I received compensation for my time. Similac believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Similac’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.