Parents, I know how much we want to be good parents. And we try really hard to make sure we are, right? I also know that when something doesn’t go as well as we want with our children, it is our natural tendency to blame ourselves. I guess blaming ourselves comes with the territory of being a caring, loving parent. We want to be good leaders for our children. It’s what great parents do, or at least people who try to be good parents. We can’t seem to help wondering what else we could have done, right?

Well, I’m going to say something radical here. Maybe we couldn’t have done anything different … Maybe the fact that our children are crying in the supermarket is not our fault at all. However, I am sure that we will at least wonder if it is somehow our fault. But anyway, I’m going to say that it’s probably not our fault and that we should stop blaming ourselves for something that we may not have had any control over.

Maybe we were just being good parents who were teaching our kids that they can’t have everything they want. Maybe our kids were having a bad day. Maybe one of your friends has that item and jealousy has reared its ugly head. The actual fact that we said “No” and the way they perceived it might not have had anything to do with any of our flaws or parenting style. The point I’m trying to make is that there could be a million different things that caused an adverse reaction in our son, and most of them probably have nothing to do with us. So let’s at least stop blaming ourselves for this one thing, okay?

Now, as my grandfather always said: “Go learn, lead and open the way to a better world for all of us.” Remember that we can’t blame ourselves for everything, we shouldn’t even try. And once again parents, thank you in advance for all that you do and all that you will do …