How often do we give ourselves a pat on the back as parents, and say, ‘You’re doing a great job!’?

When someone says, ‘You’re doing an amazing job!’, or ‘I don’t know how you do it!?’, how often do we accept the compliment, instead of shying away or politely disagreeing?

How often do we sit back and acknowledge the hard work we put in each day as parents, without criticising what we haven’t done, or feeling guilty about something?

The answer… not often enough!

We need to start giving ourselves more credit and allowing ourselves to feel proud of what we achieve each day. Raising people (little or big) is hard work! It takes a lot, and we give so much of ourselves every day, and yet we don’t take the time to celebrate our achievements. We don’t give ourselves compliments, or really accept the compliments that others give us. We don’t acknowledge that we deserve whatever little rewards we want to give ourselves, or allow ourselves the freedom to take a break (guilt free) when we need it. We don’t shout to the earth how proud we are of ourselves for just getting through each day, raising our 1, 2, or 10 children.

So let’s start making a change. The next time you’re celebrating one of your children’s birthdays or other special milestones, give yourselves a pat on the back for getting through the year or helping them achieve their milestone. If you’re at the end of a particularly tough day, take 5 for yourself once the kids are in bed and sit on the couch or soak in the bath, and acknowledge that you’ve gotten through a tough day and that you’re proud of yourself, reminding yourself that tomorrow is a new day. And even if it wasn’t a tough day, smile to yourself (maybe even with a little thumbs up) and be proud of your good day – definitely celebrate those little diamonds! If you have a partner who makes life that bit easier, don’t forget to talk to them and tell them how proud you are of them, and thank them for what they give to your family. And of course, if you receive a bit of praise, graciously accept it and say, ‘Thank you!’ with pride.

It’s also important to block out any comparison making in the process. It doesn’t matter what someone else is achieving, or what we think they might think (because often what we think they’re thinking and what they’re actually thinking are very different), we are all unique, we all do things differently, and we all have our individual circumstances. The bottom line is, we should all be proud of ourselves and we all have the right to be proud of our achievements as parents.

So whether you’re a parent to 1, or 2, or 10, or multiples, or you’ve got little babies or big adult babies… whatever your parenting, feeding, working, sleeping arrangements are… I am proud of you and I think you are doing an amazing job!

Spread the love today. Start by telling yourself how proud you are, and then tell your partner, a friend, or family member how proud you are of them too. We ALL deserve it!