Parent of the Year Award

I am a 24 year old mother of three. Though many people may disagree,
I am a firm believer in having children young. I have my reasons! Recently though
I have begun to wonder how people cope with having children. See, I have three children, all under seven. My sister and I were only a year apart, so were more
Like twins and shared everything. Somewhere along the line, I convinced myself
That if my children were a few years apart, they would all play together and therefore be close knit. It never occurred to me at the time that I was probably an unplanned
Pregnancy- since very few parents would opt for an instant litter of very small children.
End result, three very small, silly children.

I was out shopping recently. Alone with the kids! Suddenly, without provocation, my youngest jumped out of the shopping cart, dissatisfied with my selections so far and determined to steer the shopping cart in a direction more worth her while, straight
To the toy isle! It was then that my oldest child, feeling his authority challenged, determined that as the eldest would decide where and when the shopping cart would
Go. The middle child, never one to be left out, just joined in the ensuing brawl to
Determine a victor. Shouting and screaming later, my bunch and I had won the
Attention of the of the entire supermarket’s clientele. All eyes on me, I had to put my
Foot down. I spoke calmly, assuring the children that any failure to comply with my requests would result in the confiscation of their more treasured toys for an unspecified
Period of time. Clearly flustered by this prospect, I seized the opportunity to gather my
Brood and depart the supermarket in silence.

Lucky break. More often than not, this scare tactic had proved ineffective. Most
‘experienced’ parents would say something about ‘letting the child know who’s boss’
Etc. Even though I’ve seen many a red-faced parent retreat in defeat form a public
Place where a child has acted up, amid mutters of “parents that can’t discipline their
Children.”

My brother and his wife attended ‘Good Parenting’ classes when they had kids. I still
See some weak links in their parenting chain though. I wonder if anyone can ever take enough classes to know how to deal with obnoxious children. I think not. If only
Parenting were like the movies, where everyday us parents would impart some stoic
Beautifully-writ beads of wisdom that strung together would leave our children in such
In such great awe of us that they dare not disobey us- as this would compromise the great
Reverence they felt towards us.

Keep dreaming. In reality, you win some, you lose some. One day you make a breakthrough to a troublesome teen, the next day you hit a parenting brick wall.
At the end of the day, I think we all as parents deserve a break and a pat on the back
For doing our best, and maybe a ‘Parent of the Year’ award for just sticking around
And trying.