“Am I a good parent?”
It’s a question that echoes silently in the minds of moms and dads every day.
When your child slams the door.
When they refuse to talk.
When grades drop. When tantrums rise.
When your best advice is met with silence.
We blame ourselves.
We google harder.
We read the “Top 10 Good Parenting Tips.”
We try to be better. More patient. More positive. More… perfect.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
There’s no such thing as a ‘good parent’. Only a present one.
The Trap of the ‘Perfect Parent’ Mindset
Modern parenting has become a performance.
We’re told to raise emotionally intelligent, academically successful, well-adjusted, socially aware, screen-limited, sugar-free, anxiety-proof children — without ever losing our cool.
It’s exhausting. And impossible.
The pressure to always say the right thing, react the right way, and never mess up builds unrealistic expectations.
And ironically, it creates emotional distance between us and our children.
Because real connection doesn’t come from perfect moments.
It comes from imperfect conversations — the messy, awkward, vulnerable ones.
