It’s hard being a parent.  In addition to the everyday tasks that come with having kids – making sure they’re fed, clothed and relatively clean at the barest minimum, you’ve also gotta grapple with the big stuff… like how to make sure your child grows up well and healthy. That’s a huge responsibility! And all that in addition to the other stuff you need to do as a normal adult.

So we parents know how tough it can be.  And we don’t need unnecessary stress that makes our jobs harder. >:(

Here’s a bunch of things parents DON’T need, off the top of my head:

1.  People judging our parenting

Be it the stranger in the mall who shakes their head at you while your two year old throws himself down on the floor screaming, or the put-together mom with the well dressed kids eyeballing you as you give your kid the iPad at the table.  Or even the well meaning but critical relative telling you to bundle your baby up although she’s sweating like a pig.

We don’t need your judgment because we are doing the best we can.  There’s no one right way to parenting, and every child is different.  Every momma is different too.

And how would you know what happened right before the tantrum took place? Or why that mother isn’t picking up her screaming baby?  Maybe she’s tried everything but the baby just won’t stop crying.  Maybe she’s sprained her back.  You would not know the full story from outside so it would not be your place to judge.

All parents are already doing their best and they know their kids the best.  Having people throw judgment at us is just an unnecessary irritation we don’t need.

2. Parent’s guilt

Don’t say other people judging parents, moms and dads often judge themselves the harshest.  Our children are precious so naturally we want to do our best for them.  And of course we should!  But when it comes to the small stuff, don’t sweat it.  So what if we don’t create the nicest bento, go out for a nice lunch with girlfriends without them, or forget to let them wear socks with their sneakers?  THAT IS OKAY.

Your kids will not grow up into monsters because you gave them Mcdonalds for lunch instead of a home-grown, home cooked nutritious meal.  Or if you let them go out of the house with unbrushed hair.  Or if you want to have a nice meal with your spouse once in a while at a place that doesn’t have a kids menu.

In the long run, all this doesn’t matter.  What’s important is that your kids know you love them and are there for them.  And that they have a happy mom rather than a stressed out miserable one.

3.  Someone banging the door just when you’ve put the baby to sleep

Do I need to elaborate. T_T  Worst is if you’ve just spent the last forty minutes rocking baby until you can’t feel your arms anymore, shushing like a steam engine, and you’ve finally managed to ninja your baby into her crib without waking her.  You’re just about to sneak out of the room when your hand slips off the doorknob… and the door slams shut.

GG. Hahahaha.

4. Inflexible bosses

I haven’t had personal experience in this, thankfully but I have mommy friends with unreasonable bosses who mark them down for leaving the office at 5.30 pm on the dot  to go pick up kids from daycare.  Even though they’ve finished their work.  Just because they look “lazy.” Whaaaat.

5.  Baby falling sick

This is the mother of all.  When a child is sick there is no rest for the parents.  Anxious trips to the doctor, force feeding of medicine or insertion of suppositories, staying up all night sponging or checking temperature every five minutes, wiping off vomit, going crazy with worry that the illness will escalate, when it comes to crap parents don’t need, kids falling sick is second only to…

6. You falling sick

When kids are sick you wish you could take on the sickness and suffer instead of your kids.  The irony is that when we’re sick, we still worry because who’s going to manage the kids if you’re down with fever or a headache?

I used to avoid pills and medicines at all cost… until I became a mom.  I’d just suffer in bed and wait out fevers and headaches (more serious sicknesses or infections no choice la have to take meds).  But now with Fighter and Penny, no choice.  If I feel a headache or fever coming, the most sensible thing to do is to swallow a Panadol and get on with life.  Sure, I can ask nanny to take over but I don’t want to if possible.  Fighter won’t understand why I’m cooped up in bed instead of hanging out with him and I’d rather much prefer being downstairs with the two of them than having to quarantine myself in my room.

Lololol.

For the other nuisances, there’s no magic pill to make them go away, but for physical headaches or just feeling under the weather, all it takes is a Panadol Actifast (which btw absorbs twice as fast as regular paracetamol and is gentle on the stomach, leaving the body naturally in 24 hours), whatever it takes to get the pain out so you can c0ntinue to live life well. 🙂 #LifeReplacesPain #PanadolActifast