National Parenting Week 2019

Why is it important to celebrate parenting?

Parents have the most tiring, amazing, stressful, loving, worrying, joyful, tearful, sleepless, adventurous role on the planet. Caring for another tiny human being is worth celebrating (or for my parents, two human beings - and they have done an incredible job!)

Parents are raising “our future generation”, but there is much unbelievable pressure ‘to be’ or ‘to have’ and there are different levels to society, but some of usl seem to be caught up on the negative aspect of parenting when we should be praising parents. Encouraging parents. Caring for parents. Congratulating parents. Supporting parents.

I’m sure the last thing of my grandparents’ minds were to see if my mum or dad needed a flashy new toy or the latest gadget 'on the street'. Their main concern was that their children were warm, had a roof over their heads, had food on the table and were thankful for life.

In the 21st century though, parents stress over this PLUS worry about what their child is going to come home and ask for, what their child's classmates will get for Christmas, what their hockey team’s parents are gifting this year… The list is endless.

And as much as I love social media, I can’t stress the magnitude of chaos it produces from reading one single post. I could say so much about this.

We, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbours, friends, STRANGERS. We need to show our support to parents and tell them, “You’re doing a great job”

For some really great activites to *celebrate* National Parenting Week, visit ParentingNI