In insightful and encouraging message from the board chair.

We all suffer from it - from the day our babies arrive in the world parental guilt kicks in. Are we being the best parent we can be? How do we compare to others? Are we giving our child every opportunity possible so they can achieve academically, spiritually, physically? Are we treating them or spoiling them? And what about discipline? Are we being consistent? Too harsh? Too lenient? ‘Helpful’ articles pop up on our screens daily – ‘Three things this mother never did’, ‘Five rules to follow when bringing up children’, ‘Do this simple trick and you will raise brilliant adults’. If only it were that simple, I am sure we would all have this parenting thing nailed.

It’s understandable. We all want our offspring to be clever, kind humans and a credit to their parents at all times. We blame ourselves for their failings and wonder where we went wrong, what we should have done differently, or better.

But why do we expect perfection when life isn’t perfect? Being a parent is a learning curve, we learn alongside our children how best to do it, and so obviously we are going to stumble along the way and make mistakes just like they will.

I realised fairly early into lockdown life that I wasn’t a homeschooling parent. And I made the decision I wasn’t going to feel in the least bit guilty about it. I had work to do in trying circumstances and I never signed up to teach my own children, which is why they are enrolled in school! I fed them, clothed them, sent them out on the trampoline if they had been on screens too long, and insisted we walk the dog once a day. That was it. And I made the conscious decision to not feel guilty. It was unbelievably liberating. The kids still read, played board games, baked cookies and learned stuff. They even did some of the assigned homework tasks. But I was determined not to feel bad if they didn’t.

We should always strive for the best for our kids, but I’d recommend shedding the guilt if you can. Guilt won’t make you a better parent, it will only make you feel like you have failed and need to do more.

If you survived lockdown with your kids at home, and have navigated the uncertainty and disruption of Covid the past two years, give yourselves a pat on the back. You all deserve it.