Grades don't matter.

I have pretty much just been thrown into this elemantary age parenting gig. Well I was 2 years ago, but it still feels total foreign. School, friends, extra curricular activities, and even sibling dynamic are all so overwhelming. Ive been thinking  a lot lately about the latest parenting idea that grades don't matter as much as raising kind kids matter. Well this is a great IDEA but in reality makes parenting very stressful. I care what grades my kids make. I care if they make a lower grade than they usually do, and I care when they aren't really trying on their schoolwork. I care so much about them being kind, too. BUT I can't measure my kids kindness like I can their grades. I can't get a tutor or make them study extra to be kind. I can try to model good behavior, teach it to them during teachable moments, and punish (or redirect 😉) them for bad behavior, but I can't make them be kind to others. and what pressure!

Man, I would LOVE my kids to be getting character counts and all the other outstanding citizen awards and recognition, but guess what? They aren't. And that is hard on this momma. So whats the point of this. My point is that if you're a mom that doesn't get the good principal/teacher phone calls, you aren't alone. If you are the parent that doesn't get to post character counts awards pictures, you aren't alone. If you cringe when you think about checking their behavior notes for the day- you aren't alone. If you desperately just want your kids to make it through the day without getting in reprimanded- you aren't alone. I am here. I am a mom that makes lots of bad parenting mistakes and sometimes isn't very kind. I am a mom that doesn't always use respect when fussing at her kids. I am a mom that shouldn't even get mad when she hears her kids being sassy to each other because I know they have heard me talk the same way. BUT I am also a mom that feels bad about this. I am a mom that wants their kids to do as she says, not always as she does. I am a mom that just wants her kids to be kind to their classmates,  make their teachers lives easier, and have a good day. (Oh, and I wouldn't mind all A's on that report card either 😉)