I feel like I will be writing on this subject a lot, as it’s an on-going question burning in my mind throughout my days and weeks.  How can I be a good parent for my children?

In any other vocation you can find, mould and shape a job so it suits your talents.  It’s in an employer’s best interests to have you working at what you are best at and it’s most worthwhile for you to dedicate your 40 hours a week to something you get satisfaction out of doing.

With parenting you can bring your talents. strengths and best features to the role, but they won’t cover the vast spectrum of what the job requires so there will be times and whole areas where you will fail.

Take me, I’m a “completer/finisher”.  I can organise, I can solve problems, I can see something complicated and make it simple, I can bring order, I set out to do something and I have the focus and discipline to finish it.  In parenting this means, I can plan a family activity, I can make four different purees in one hour, I can find out what is required for my children and I can propose a solution.  But my children don’t function like an Excel spreadsheet, they don’t run to schedule like a well planned event, they don’t co-operate!

Everyday I do a mediocre version of parenting and I hope to do better the next day.  I guess I am only two years in, which when it takes a life time to learn I really am just at the start but oh I wish I knew the short cuts to good parenting.  I have a feeling there aren’t any and even the wisest of people will not be able to show me the best way to parent my children because I’m the only one (with Gareth) that can be a good parent to my children and we’ll have to find the secrets to success together.