Take Off Your Cape

Do you ever feel like Superwoman, flying around town trying to look perfect?

The problem is that in real life none of us are Superwomen, we are humans who make mistakes every day. It is time to take off your cape and be real with your children!

A friend of mine came to me worried about her daughter.  After receiving a B on her report card, her daughter was devastated.  She aimed for perfection in everything she did, but when she made a mistake, she felt horrible about it.  She would beat herself up saying how stupid she was. This mom was heartbroken.

Why was her daughter so hard on herself?

The mom took her daughter to therapy. In the very first session, the daughter was asked to draw a picture of her family.  In the drawing, the dad and siblings were dressed in normal clothes, but the mom was dressed like Superwoman.  When the therapist asked why she had drawn her mom like a Superwoman, the daughter replied,

“My mom is Supermom. She tries to do everything perfectly.”

The mom was blown away.  Her response to the therapist was, “That is not true, I make tons of mistakes.” The therapist asked the daughter, “What does your mom do when she makes a mistake?”  The daughter responded, “She gets very angry with herself.”

If you are a Supermom trying to do everything perfectly for everyone, remember that you have little eyes watching your every move.  Make mistakes, tell your kids about them, and sometimes make light of them.  Take off your cape and laugh at your mistakes. Then, maybe, your kids will not be so hard on themselves in the future.

For more parenting read my book, The Parenting Backpack.