Don't Treat Your Child Like Instagram

Parenting is the hardest most rewarding thing in my life. It's work - very hard work each and every single day. Sometimes I  have good days. Others, I really struggle.

I want to always be the perfect parent so my kids remember how perfect their childhood was. But what I've realized is how important it is for our kids to see us struggle.

We all know life is not perfect. You have good days and bad; times of relation and of stress; seasons of laughter and of depression. All these make up the beautiful complexity of our life and theirs as well.

Our kids need to see us work through our struggles and overcome challenges more than they need us to always be perfect.

You are the biggest influence in your child's life. They will get their view of the world primarily through how you parent. Rather than only showing them your Instagram moments, allow them to see your struggle.

Don't treat your child like your social media feed.

Show them:

• How you deal with negative emotions in a healthy way.
• How you acknowledge your self-doubt and work through it.
• How you are not always the perfect version of yourself but you strive to be better every day.

It's important for our kids to know we get knocked down too but we get back up. They need to see us push through the struggle to achieve our goals. They need to hear us say we are sorry.

Be the example you want your kids to follow.