30 Daily Choices To Help You Become a Better Mom
Hey, mama.
Motherhood is hard! This is something we can all agree on. Can I get an amen!
It is stressful and amazing. It can drain you and fill you up at the same time. And it can definitely bring out the best and the worst in us.
We are all out here doing the dang thing. Giving it our best shot. And our best will look different every single day. Some days my best is cereal for dinner, putting on a movie and counting down the minutes until bedtime.
Have you ever started the day off great and then poof? That good attitude becomes a distant memory.
Next thing you know it is bedtime and those feelings of guilt are coming in hot. You start beating yourself up about things you said or how you acted. You start wondering if you did enough.
There is not one thing out there that will make every second of every single day amazing.
But you can choose to try and focus on the areas you want to improve.
Being aware is half the battle. Am I right?
These 30 choices are all about you choosing one thing to focus on every day.
I can not count how many times I have gone to bed with a list of about 23 ways I was going to be the next day. My plan is to be patient and kind. And also make sure I play enough and listen better. Oh, and let’s not forget I am going to be the most present parent I have ever been.
How do you think this works out for me? Spoiler alert. Not that great.
The only thing I am really doing is setting myself up to fail. It is just not realistic to have my focus be all over the place.
One main focus a day sounds like a much better plan. And here is another spoiler alert. The outcome will turn out a heck of a lot better.
So every morning your first choice is to choose something from this list. Your second choice is to put the idea front and center in your mind and actually do it.
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Today I Choose To…
1) Listen
I do not always listen to my child. I hear her. But I wouldn’t go as far as to say I am actually listening.
Some days I am just nodding my head without having any idea what she actually said.
I know I can do better.
Let’s try and really listen to what our kids are saying. Even if sometimes they want to tell us a 10 minutes story about a french fry!
2) Be Present
This is all about being in the moment. Not thinking about 12 other things. Just focusing on where you are right now.
Remember that childhood really does fly by. Long days, short years is so dang true!
3) Say Yes
Does it ever feel like all you ever say is no? There are days I feel like that is basically the only word I used.
When I look back, there are always times I could have said yes. Not to everything of course. I am always going to stick with no when it comes to my daughter going to the grocery store in her underwear. She literally has asked me this a few times!
But I can say yes to reading one more book. I can say yes to letting her help me make dinner.
Try to add the word yes to a few more conversations.
4) Slow Down
Stop and smell the roses. I know we have all heard this saying before.
Instead of smelling the roses, put in what you want to stop and do.
5) Be Kind
Some days it can feel as if we are just going through the motions. Doing one thing after another.
Is kindness making it on the list of things you are doing?
6) Practice Patience
This is my biggest challenge.
Before I had a kiddo of my own, patience was not even on my radar as something I would struggle with. Add this to the long list of all the things I was clueless about before I actually became a parent.
Be sure to check out these ways I try to practice patience.
7) Express Gratitude
There is always something to be grateful for when it comes to our little ones. But I know I am not always expressing what I am grateful for. It is actually quite the opposite some days.
And this is not to say you can never vent about motherhood. Just try to sprinkle a little gratitude somewhere in your day.
8) Do Something for Me
Yes, mama! You read that right. You need to make the choice to do something for yourself.
This is absolutely necessary for you to be the mom you want to be.
Don’t forget that you were a person before you became a mom. And there is still more to you than the title of mama. Much more!
9) Ask For Help
Do you know how many times I have told my daughter to ask for help? If I had to guess, I would say close to 4,324,876 in her entire lifetime.
During my life as a mama, how many times have I asked for help? Not sure on the exact count. But maybe about 6.
Listen up. It is not always necessary to be a one-woman show.
We need to make the choice to use this word and not feel one little bit bad about it.
10) Play
Truth be told, I do not always love to play with my daughter. Especially when it is barbies for the 500th time. I may have resorted to begging her to play anything else. My begging is usually ignored.
This is not about entertaining our kids 24/7. Quality over quantity, friends!
The point is to really put in the effort and carve out some time in your day to play with your kids.
11) Prioritize
You will never be able to do it all.
Choose to prioritize what is really important to you. This is all about being intentional with your time.
12) Have Fun
Have a dance party. Make funny faces.
Do anything that you would consider FUN!
13) Not Expect Perfection
Unrealistic expectations happen a lot at my house.
I tend to set unrealistic expectations for my child, myself and my husband.
Take a step back and think about if what you are expecting is anywhere near reasonable.
14) Be Careful With My Words
Our words have power. Let’s treat them that way.
15) Smile
Feeling annoyed. Smile. Feeling angry. Try smiling.
You can not smile your way through everything difficult. But when it comes to our kids, we can try to smile more often.
16) Do My Best
This is really for the days when you are riding the struggle bus. You know those days? When everything is just rough!
Remind yourself to just keep trying to do your best.
17) Look on the Bright Side
We all can find something to complain about pretty easily.
What if we flipped the script on this? Looking on the bright side sounds like a much more pleasant way to spend my days.
Make the choice to not let a “bad” couple of minutes spill over and ruin your day.
18) Put My Phone Down
I look at my phone too much. There I said it!
Our loved ones should not have to compete with technology.
Pick a time when your phone is out of your hands and out of sight!
19) Use Manners
Please and thank you. Sorry.
We encourage our kids to use manners. We should be using them when we speak to them also!
20) Stand My Ground
Have you ever given in to something more for yourself than for your child? My hand is definitely raised. I have said “fine, go ahead” quite a few times.
Not today! Choose to stand your ground even when it takes everything in you to do it.
21) Ask Questions
My daughter loves when I ask her questions. Talking is her specialty (just like her mama).
“What do you think?” This is something so simple but it gives kids the floor to voice their opinion. And we all know kids love to share their opinions.
22) Give More Hugs
This is an area I happen to do pretty well in. I am a hugger.
But some days I become a hugging machine.
You can never give too many hugs! Right!?
23) Validate Feelings
It’s OK. Calm down. That’s enough.
I have said all three of these things.
Do these phrases help the issue? Not really.
How about saying, “you must feel pretty upset about your toy breaking” or “it’s hard to share your favorite toy.”
Validating feelings can really be a game-changer.
24) Read a Parenting Book
I love books. Every kind out there. I am definitely a proud bookworm.
Parenting books happen to be one of my favorites though.
Do they solve all of my parenting dilemmas? Not a chance. But they do give me some insight and a fresh perspective on things. Sometimes they just provide that little bit of encouragement that I really needed. Especially on the days when I am holding back tears.
Be sure to check out the absolute best parenting books out there!
25) Read a Self-Improvement Book
These are my absolute favorite type of book.
I am always reading some kind of personal development book. And when I find ones I love, I read them over and over.
Improving yourself is only going to have a positive impact on the kind of parent you are.
Right now, I am reading this one! I am a little over halfway through. And I love it! The best thing about it is that it is broken down into very small sections. So, if you only have 5 minutes to read, that is just fine.
Be sure to check out some of my other favorite self-help books!
26) Embrace the Chaos
Having kids is basically welcoming some kind of chaos into your home.
No need to fight it. Sometimes just accepting what is can be a huge relief.
27) Be A Good Example
Some days I fail to remember that my daughter is watching and listening to everything I do. And I mean EVERYTHING!
It’s easy to forget we have little eyes on us all the time and they are learning how to act based on how we behave. It is our responsibility to give it our all to be the kind of example they need and deserve.
28) Not Yell
This is hard. Simple as that!
Be sure to check out these strategies to help with discipline and yelling!
29) Give My Full Attention
We know our kids deserve our full attention. But we also have other things on our plates.
They can not get our full attention constantly. But you can choose a time that is just for them!
That means no phones or other distractions!
30) To Choose
Choose to choose. It is amazing to read something and think it was a good idea. It is another thing to put some actions behind those ideas.
Choosing to just do something is a great choice in itself!
Listen up, friends! This is not going to make parenting easy. This is not going to make you perfect.
But it can make you a better parent. And it will challenge you to really think about your behavior every single day.
Pick something to focus on and commit. You can even write your choice down somewhere and put it where you will see it a lot.
Little written reminders are the best!
What are you going to choose today? Drop a comment and let’s chat!
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