If you could have a “parenting do-over”, what would you change?

Very interesting.

While being a parent is wonderful it definitely comes with its share of ups and downs. The downs are always the hardest and we often beat ourselves up afterwards. As they say hindsight is 20/20 but it's not like we can go back in time and change things. One parenting forum did raise the question though. If you could get a parenting do-over what are the things that you would change or would you change anything at all? Hand in Hand Parenting recently posted online and asked parents what would their 'do-over' be if they could have one? It wasn't long before the replies started to pour in;

"I would instill a teensy bit of routine around bedtimes as we were completely go with the flow when they were tiny, now they're a bit older and need their sleep for school time get up it's, to be honest, a bloody nightmare!" "I'd be gentle with my children and myself." "I would have asked for a pregnancy photo shoot. I would have gotten help for post partum depression. I would have gotten physical therapy for c-section recovery. I would have read books to understand each year of growth. I would have gotten training on how to parent a child with adhd and anxiety much sooner. I would have held her back one year."

While some parents could list off several things they would change others said that they wouldn't change anything at all;

"I honestly wouldn’t do much differently. Not that I’ve done a perfect job or haven’t had moments where I really lost it; but looking back I know I’ve done the best I’ve been capable of, every step of the way. And my best isn’t always great, but I’m a human, &... that’s just got to be good enough. I learn as I go, & I grow along with my child, & I think that’s pretty much the best we can expect of ourselves."

I think when it comes to my own experience of being a parent and what I would do-over, I think I would be more patient with my eldest. Looking back I was so excited to see him cross each milestone that I sort of rushed him through them all.