What Do You Think Your Biggest "Mommy Flaw" Is?

My mommy flaws are many but the three I would love to change ASAP (and I'm working on it) have ALL already been mentioned! Yelling (or speaking through gritted teeth), imaginative play, and a shortage of patience.

Funny how these seem to be a common trend amongst mommas!

I'm like KH... I'm not a super big fan of always playing.. I know that's horrible but I'd rather read him a book, watch a movie with him, take him to playdates, etc.... I just don't like playing a lot.. :0( That and I need to stay off the computer more...

Quick and easy answer, I wish I had more patience. But secretly, I'm not really fond of playing w/ my kids especially when I have a bunch 'I should be doing...'s running around in my head. but I suck it up and do it with a smile.

What do you think your biggest "Mommy Flaw" is?
the daddy.

I wish I wasn't so selfish with my sleep. Even though my DD sleeps all night there are times I wake up and think, "I should go check on her. I'm cold so maybe she's cold." Then I think "If she were cold she'd be crying, so she's fine." Then I go back to sleep.

I think it's awesome that you're trying to be an even better mommy. We all have room for improvement.

Yelling is a big mommy flaw. I had it when they were little. Keep working on it, because you need to stop.

I'm totally insecure. I parent by the seat of my pants/ trial & error/ what feels gut-right, and then analyze each and every single flaw in what I did at night, and then am wracked with guilt. I parent *almost completely* differently than I was raised, so there's no "pattern" for me to fall back on. When I'm in a good place I change how I do things. Overanalyizing and plotting things out has *some* benefit. But when I'm not in a good place I beat myself over things for days/ weeks/ months... all in the private of the quiet of the night... until I start to crack and call my best friend. Who puts my head on straight and puts things into perspective for me. Which I need. Being insecure, I lose all perspective. That or I really am the worst mother on the planet. Which is what I feel like tonight. And also why I preface nearly all my responses with "This is what I did" and the results, or "In my experience" or "In my observation". God only knows if what I'm doing it right or best for us, much less anyone else. I know that most of the time I'm really happy, and my son really happy... but when I screw up, I just die inside. And I screw up fairly regularly. Learning from it is little consolation. Although, I do suppose I'd rather be angry at myself than at someone else. At least I have the opportunity to change things when it's ME. So yah. Totally insecure, overanalyzing, beating myself up.

Mine is fretting about the 'messes', although I haven't completely kicked it I try to work on it everyday. When they were really little I was terrible, always worried about the spills and the stains (like drop down and scrub or rip off their clothes so I could SprayNWash it right away before it set), then one day my oldest spilled his milk and immediately started apologizing over and over again and saying it was an accident...I realized right then that I had to let it go, they are ity-bity kids for crying out loud, they will make messes and spill things and that's OK and that I didn't want them to feel like they were walking on eggshells around me....my poor babies!

I am a million times better now!

i hate playing with toys. I have no imagination and I have an extremely bright 2 year old who completely lacks the ability to play by himself. He is up my butt ALL FREAKING DAY and will never just go off and play. I also have a 6 month old and my house is always a wreck because I can't find that balance--if i clean, i'm ignoring my child and telling him i'm too busy to play. If I play with him, i'm being a "lazy housewife" and can't keep up with the housework. It sucks. I have no idea how to play with a little boy, i have no imagination anymore and hate all the legos, cars, etc.

So good to read these! I feel like I'm in good company!
The temper, yelling, over sensitivity, etc. yep...me...
Working on it...working HARD on it...

I'm not creative and have a hard time blocking out all the minutiae and tasks that need to be done and patiently sitting with the kids playing.

Hi
Go and invest in a book that will surely help you change your life.
Og Mandino's "The Greatest Salesman in the World"...its not about sales - it's about 10 scrolls you read daily when you wake up to reprogram you from the inside.

Bless yourself...and remember to share this gift wiyh others too. I give this book as a birthday gift.
C. G.
South Africa

I wish I didnt let my ex get me riled up and I could handle those times better for my daughter. I hate that she is stuck in the middle.

Ditto! I have a screaming problem as well! I can go a long time, but then something just sets me off. 2 days ago, my son was "playing" with a music box that my deceased Grandmother gave me. I apologize and hug my little guy and I'm working on it. The frequency of blowups is definitely decreasing and I hope that someday they'll disappear all together.

I get really heated up when anyone even hints that I am not a great mom. I am a little oversensitive to this since I put my heart into my son. Once someone told me about parenting classes going on at my son's preschool and I got offended.

I wish I would take more time to actually teach my children how to do things instead of just doing them myself. I want my daughters to learn how to bake the bread, but it is much quicker *today* for me to just do it myself. Same with a whole host of other things. In a perfect world, I would go to bed earlier and get up earlier and be all ready to go before the first one got up. But, I get so much more done at night after they all go to bed, and I get on a roll... and so it goes...

This may not be what you are looking for, but I'm not a "mommy" anymore, my kids are turning 12 and 16 and I don't have those little kid parenting issues anymore. What I wish I had done differently and better was put away college money. I should have done more in this area and made it more of a priority.

I seem to have every last flaw on here. Really, even the daddy part. He loves her a lot but he yells at her more than I do. It worries me because they don't spend that much time together (with being at the office all day) and when they spend time he yells at her and she is scared of him. I have spoken to him several times about this. But that is another story.

I think my MAJOR mommy flaw is not knowing what/how talk to DD about. Plus I have 2 ways of speaking Dull Monotone or Manic Enthusiasm(ME voice is accompanied by mad flashing eyes and hyperactive gesturing). She doesn't understand I am speaking to her when I use the Dull Monotone voice and the Manic Enthusiasm voice scares her a little bit (I can see it her eyes LMAO)
I am afraid she'd be more than a little strange when she grows up, since she is an only.

It is funny how mothers are supposed to suck it up and do things they don't want to in the name of having children. We are racked with guilt if we don't love every minute of it or feel we aren't doing enough because of our respective "Mommy Flaw". Oh and we are tons harder on ourselves than anyone else... 90% of the time

I'm very close to my sons, which means it is hard to let them go . . .

If it helps I had yelling issues when there were little. Luckily they forgave me. For me, yelling came from fear of losing control. Losing control = loss of love (that's how I was raised). Learn how to let that go.

Hang in there and enjoy every moment.

Two things: screamer (which I am getting much better at not doing), and lack of "time" to let them do it. I always think that "next time" she can make the cake, etc. but there is never a next time. I am always rushed and she is never really given the chance.

Yes, definately yelling/losing my temper. For whatver reason I have time getting that my 2.5 yr old is just that..... 2.5 . granted he is an EXTREME button pusher, control mongor. BUT....i wish i could keep myself in control more. I'm working on it :)

I have a few flaws. now I only have 1 kid but my yelling seems to always go with something being out of place. I HATE it when my house is messy or cluttered. I cant let the clean go so I am constantly cleaning, scrubbing, laundry....everything except playing with my 2 year old. I find when I do take an hour and we play princess or flash cards, I have a great time seeing her learn...so mine would be cheating her on mommy time because i Feel the need to clean.

i'm not a screamer but a yeller!!! my voice carries very far and loud so alot of times it sounds like i'm yelling. so i guess i would say that is my mommy flaw....i just need to have a softer voice!!!

Yeah, I am also loud, but I am loud for many things, I was a very loud teen with a big temper but I have gotten a lot better and don't scream as I use to. I think is because I am older. Every once in a while my latino takes over, lol.
If I could change something I wish I had more energy and be more adventurous. When my sister was little I was a teen and I use to be so much fun, wild, and adventurous. Where did all that go?