What Makes a Good Mother
Are children reflections of us...or themselves?
Child A gets into Harvard and goes on to become a famous brain surgeon. Child B drops out of high school, takes a dead-end job, and spends his days getting high.
How much, if any, of the credit/blame for these choices should each boy's mother take? What if the boys are brothers? Is the mom a good mom... or a bad mom?
Let's face it. Parenting is are hard job. It's the hardest job in the world. And like it or not, mothers are held to a higher standard of responsibility than fathers. Don't mean to sound sexist here. You can dispute it if you want. I'm simply speaking from my own experience.
That experience has recently got me thinking. I've met plenty of attentive mothers who dote on their kids. I've also met my share of mothers whose children have been taken away by CPS (Child Protective Services). In between is a broad spectrum of parenting styles and experiences.
I wrote this in poem to share mine with you.
I’m the kind of mother
who looks like the others
acts like the others
seems pretty normal
I do Mom things like them
work in the classroom
put on my game face
cheer on the sidelines
Other moms stress over
test scores and game scores
will Johnny get in?
are his grades good enough?
Judging from the outside
they’d never, ever guess
how different I am
how healed yet damaged
When it comes to my child
my worries are basic
more crises, really
is he still alive?
Life jags sideways then down
the signposts familiar
I know what to do
maternal instinct
Myself a survivor
No stranger to darkness
to numbing out pain
as my mother did
Today I’m a mother
who does interventions
who interviews rehabs
prays for redemption
Thank God I’m a mother
whose child has been to Hell
together we’ve clawed
our way back to hope
Good-bye, Mom
That’s what I can offer
the friend who saved her son
thwarting suicide
with psych ward lockdown
That’s tough to explain
to those other mothers
sheltered as they are
not in their worldview
They’d be shocked to know
I'm the kind of mother
Whose parenting skills
Are sharpened by instinct
Am I a “good” mother?
what is good anyway?
the absence of malice
abundance of love
©Mighty Mom 2009. All rights reserved.
Some Resources
- Parenting Teens - Troubled Teen Help Information.
Information for parents of teens, including troubled teens, parenting tips, teen education, and more. - Teen Drug Abuse Home Page - Teen Drug Abuse and Addiction - Find Help for Teen Drug Abuse
Find teen drug rehabs and alcoholism treatment centers listed here in an easy to use searchable directory. Also, information and resources for parents. - Teen Drug Addiction Rehab Teen Drug Rehabilitation Drug Addiction Teen Treatment Centers
Find drug rehab and drug rehabilitation treatment centers listed here in an easy to use searchable directory. All of the nations best drug treatment centers and rehabs are listed. - The Prevention Researcher
- Teen Suicide - Adolescent Suicide Statistics and Prevention
Teen suicide statistics and articles on adolescent suicide prevention as well as teenage suicide warning signs. Get the stats on teen suicide today and related issues like teen depression.
