Being a mom is a blessing, a gift, a divine experience that starts as soon as you feel the baby kicking inside. Unfortunately, this blessing doesn’t come with a manual, so we rely on our parenting instincts, and too often, this proves to be a huge mistake. Moms could detect a problem by instinct, but dealing with it is a completely different story. There are some common parenting sins Egyptian moms do; here are the most deadly ones:
1-Not having fixed rules
One major problem moms do is that they don’t set fixed rules, or set them only to give in to a pleading kid. Even worse, is that a mom could bend rules if the rules she set don’t suit her at a particular time. This confuses the kids and makes it harder for you to set rules again, after all, how will they take your words seriously when you don’t take them seriously yourself?
2- Having high expectations
So, your neighbor started potty training her daughter when she was 2 years old and it worked, the kid in your son’s soccer practice has moved straight to the team, or maybe your niece won first prize in a junior science invention fair, that doesn’t mean your kid will follow the same trend. Unrealistic expectations always lead to a frustrated mom, this will in turn be conveyed to your kid, and eventually; he will not cope and lose interest in whatever it is you are asking him to do.
3-Stuck in an argument
Kids are so sweet, but devious at times, they could trick you into a conversation that would lead to the parent giving excuses, for example, why they are asking for an errand or why it is important to finish homework. Miraculously, the roles are switched and instead of being a parent, we get to defend our cause when we should be taking the lead.
4-Compensation
Divorced moms and moms who work too much tend to do a horrible mistake by buying their kids expensive gadgets or not punishing them when they do something wrong just as a compensation for their marital status or a hectic work schedule. Material things never replace a mother’s attention. No matter how some moms see this as a form of love, it is considered destructive.
5-Vent through the kids
So, we totally agree that kids are sometimes monsters in disguise, but that doesn’t mean that when you are frustrated or sad that you abuse them with words or hit them. It is a pity how some parents see this as a form of discipline when it actually breaks a child’s spirit and scars him for life. Mothers should differentiate between their own feelings and how they react to a child’s misbehavior.
6-Asking them to be what you are not
One of the most deadly sin some Egyptian moms do is preaching her kids all the time about moral values when actually she has a deformed view of morality. How could a mom talk about her friends in front of her kids and then ask them to respect their friends? How could a mum lie about something and then expect them to tell the truth? How will kids stick to moral standards when they see their role model contradicting the values she set for them?
7-Not seeing your kids
Yes, it is very sad when life’s problems exceed our ability to cope, we stop seeing our kids, and we stop caring about their amazing discovery that 1+1 equals 2, that they could hold a crayon and draw a flower, that they are heartbroken because some other child made fun of their crooked teeth. We consider these things as trivial when they are the most important things for them at their young age. We may have problems the size of a continent but when your kids come back from their nursery/school/sport’s practice just look in their eyes and really listen to what they want to say, it will make a great difference.
