As I pulled on my toddler’s shoes, my friend Melody headed over to say goodbye. Behind her, her son Leo sat in a booster seat, kicking his legs and fussing. She didn’t expect what happened next. Leo planted his feet on the edge of the table and pushed with all his might. His chair toppled backward, and he fell to the floor with a bang. Melody rushed back to pluck him from his booster. “I shouldn’t have turned my back on him,” she said to me seconds later. Then, feeling the back of his head, she added, “He has a lump. Agh! I knew I should’ve gotten rid of that seat. He’s too big for it.” My friend had tears in her eyes when we finally said goodbye.
Sometimes we make the same mistakes over again, but other times, accidents just happen. We feel horrible either way. But beating ourselves up doesn’t do any good. Learning from mistakes makes us better moms. Here are 5 wake-up calls we get from messing up.
1. You’re not invincible.
I’ve learned I’m not invincible when I try to do too much on too little sleep, and I get injured or forget things. It happened the day I dropped off my daughter at preschool and then tried to fit in a day’s worth of activities into a couple hours. In my haste, I slammed my foot into a doorframe and broke my toe. Last year, when we got our new puppy, I was so tired, I completely forgot my kids’ piano lessons. Still having to pay for the lessons hurt not just my wallet, but my pride. As moms, we’re used to checking every box, day after day—or at least trying to. But the truth is, we’re not invincible. And we need to cut ourselves some slack and slow down.
2. You make mistakes. So what?
After my first baby started to crawl, I decided to learn to knit. About halfway through a scarf, I made a huge mistake and couldn’t figure out how to fix it. So, I just kept going. When I finished, people said nice things to me about the scarf and no one pointed out the lump in the middle. Knitting a scarf for the first time is like motherhood. We make mistakes because we’re learning and trying very hard. If we quit with every dropped stitch or parenting mistake, we’d never finish a scarf, and our kids would still be in diapers. Mistakes teach us something. The next time you make a mistake, shrug it off. Consider what you learned in the process, and you’ll do better next time.
Knitting a scarf for the first time is like motherhood. If we quit with every dropped stitch or parenting mistake, we'd never finish a scarf, and our kids would still be in diapers. Click To Tweet3. You do embarrassing things. Everyone does!
Who doesn’t say embarrassing things? Wanting to rewind and delete something I just said happens more often than I’d like to admit. But if we’re too afraid to try new things or talk to new people because we might embarrass ourselves, we put a cap on our experiences. We don’t want our kids to limit themselves, so why should we? Just know you’re not alone in the embarrassing-things department. Most of us moms are silent members.
4. You keep at it, and it’ll pay off.
I’ve been trying for 15 years to be a good mom. I’ve learned so much, but I’m still messing up left and right. Sometimes, I think it’s not fair. I work so hard, but my kids still fight with each other, argue with me, can’t keep their rooms clean… But when we keep at it, I’m convinced we’re still successful. Our kids know we love them, that we never give up on them, and that we believe in them. We’re learning from the mistakes we make and sharpening the tools in our parenting toolbox. That’s what a good mom does!
5. Your kids get the message too.
When our kids see us lose our tempers or forget to pick them up from school (oops), they realize their mom makes mistakes just like they do. So, the next time you burn the dinner, forget to sign a permission slip, give your kid the wrong lunch box, or realize hours later your kid’s been walking around in mismatched shoes, use yourself as the example of how to handle your goofs. If you can laugh at yourself in the moment, your kids will gain invaluable life lessons in humility and how to extend grace.
How are you learning from mistakes in your life?
