“Be kind to yourself when you don't parent like you want to because self-forgiveness needs to be modeled too.”
Those are never the answer, but reader C.T. says that we often fall into a cycle of punitive parenting when we’re all out of ideas on how to handle the situation. “You'll parent imperfectly. Kids are tough and will survive your imperfection,” she says. “Be kind to yourself when you don't parent like you want to because self-forgiveness needs to be modeled too.”