Am I bad parent?
Our family has been through a tough couple months, to be completely honest with you. We have had yet another death in the family, which is three in the past six months: my dad, my husband's dad, and a close aunt. I just simply couldn't rally the effort to do my weekly writing and video routines.
I just haven't had many words as life keeps stunning me into silence.
Through all this, my parenting has taken a backseat. My kids have simply been coming along to funerals in different cities and offering consoling hugs when I seem a bit off. This is not the job I want to give them, but it's just the way things are right now.
The sad fact is I am not always the parent I know I can be.
In this week's video I answer a question from a new mom that doesn't feel connected to her baby. I can really relate to this as I was that new mom myself, and I thought there was something horribly wrong with me when I felt empty towards my child. I had this experience again when I went through a depressive episode a few years back - kids just seemed like too much work.
Now that they are older, I feel more confident that they will "turn out okay", but when they were littler, I felt like my every mood, my every choice, my every shortfall would scar them and send them into the jagged landscape of low self-esteem and self-doubt as they grew.
For those of us who are trying to raise our kids thoughtfully, the ups and downs of life can feel even more unsettling, especially if we have a kid that needs a little extra from us.
The Dragonfly community awaits you
Joining our community means having access to first-rate therapists and coaches, hundreds of expert-vetted courses and workshops in our Dragonfly Resource Centre, and safe, judgment-free groups where you can bond with kindred individuals and heal together. See just how much we take your mental health seriously by filling out the contact form below.
