I never thought I would be the one to say “mind your motherhood” but here I am a year into my motherhood journey and I have said it way too many times than I would like. One of the things I learned in my first year as a mom is everyone with or without children have an opinion on raising your children. Most of it comes with good intentions. Most don’t mean to be pushy or patronizing. Everyone just wants to help. While most of the time I am open to at least hearing what others would like to contribute there comes points when it is too much. So what do you do?
How To Help Others Mind Your Motherhood
You can tell people no.
You can tell people no. Read that again. Maybe one more time. YOU CAN TELL PEOPLE NO. No one says you have to use any of the advice that anyone gives you. You don’t have to allow anyone to give your child anything you don’t want your child to have. If you have your own routine and you don’t want others to change it tell them! You can tell people no. It’s your motherhood and your child. Be direct. Remain respectful. Be polite as possible. But don’t let anyone make choices without your consent.
Establish boundaries.
People may not like when you tell them no. They may try and push their advice on you despite your no. Establishing boundaries even before your child appears can let people know what you will or won’t tolerate. Those boundaries will let others know that their choices will result in actions that they may not like. They can choose to mind their motherhood or find themselves without your child’s company.
Trust yourself.
Sometimes when others give me advice I start to doubt myself. After all there are plenty of people who have children. I didn’t know that I was pregnant. Why on Earth should I trust myself? I have to tell myself that this is my journey and my choices. If I choose to follow exactly what the doctor says, that’s my choice. If I choose to research and seek out second opinions those are my choices too. Your motherhood journey with each child is unique. Don’t let anyone take away your right to choose. Even if I make a mistake I would rather make that mistake based on my choice not the choice that someone made for me.
