The Average Child
@jillybean1222 (6408)
March 18, 2018 6:07pm CST
Before I begin, allow me to ask for your oversight or forgiveness for typos. My laptop is being funky. Something is up with my keyboard. So it either leaves out my "H" when I type it, or it types 3 or 5 or 7 of them. yes, it's annoying!
Often I feel like a failure of a parent when allowing the world of social media to cloud my thoughts. I feel jealousy. Envy.
Why does it seem like every other child, except mine, are extraordinary at whatever they do? Everyone's child excels at sports, ghhrades, etc. And here are mine, trudging along. Average, maybe "good" maybe even really good.
Then there's the isolation wen your child does something bad. And you zip your lips and don't talk because everyone else seems to have those kids who don't misbehave.hhhh
My weekend has been rough. Parenting teenagers is hard.
11 people like this
12 responses
@JudyEv (326776)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Mar 18
I have been there and yes, parenting teenagers is hard. Social media has a lot to answer for in some respects. Other parents could easily be facing the same problems but they don't talk about the bad and they talk up the good. I'd be trying to pay less attention to how others are doing. You might be surprised at the real life situation. As others here have said, if you're doing your best, no-one can or should ask more of you. Here's a hug. 
4 people like this
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
25 Mar 18
thank you! i know we all have our struggles. last weekend was HARD. dealing with some stuff with my 16 year old son & it's making me feel like a failure.
1 person likes this
@paigea (35830)
• Canada
26 Mar 18
@jillybean1222 people share their shiny moments. It doesn't mean they don't have their troubles.
@AmbiePam (86009)
• United States
19 Mar 18
I once heard someone say Facebook is where sad people go to make others believe they're happy. That may not totally be true, but I think people like to hide some of the things their kids do because they think it makes them look bad. I was a good kid, straight A's, but I had a lot of emotional problems. My parents sent me to counseling when I was 15, and I wish they had sooner. I wanted help I just didn't know how to ask for it.
On the other hand, I am not comparing my world with yours. You have a complicated world I could never understand. But I know you are doing a good job. You are an extraordinary person, and I firmly believe that can't help but be passed on to your kids in some way.
3 people like this
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
25 Mar 18
thank you for your words of encouragement. i'm struggling a lot with my 16 year old son lately. and i can't help but feel envy right now for those who aren't dealing with all i am dealing with... :-(
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (95446)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
18 Mar 18
The child should learn the expression from the late football coach George S. Halas which is "No one who ever gave it his best ever regretted it." or the saying from the late football coach Vince T. Lombardi which is "No one can reach perfection, But by trying to be perfect, you achieve excellence."
3 people like this
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
19 Mar 18
Well I will tell you, 99% of those bragging parents are full of sh*t! I remember going to parties (yes I was a wild one) and seeing those "perfect kids" there and they were so drunk and sl*tty. Football players smoking pot, the polices kid selling joints.
So you and your kids are normal!
All teens are full of drama
2 people like this
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
25 Mar 18
i am NOT good at parenting teens... it was much easier when they were in poopy diapers!
1 person likes this
@Essjayd (1568)
•
18 Mar 18
Social media gives a false impression
of peoples lives Very few people will post
the bad stuff so everyone thinks their kids
are perfect!
Very few kids behave perfectly and only a
minority of parents believe their kids are
perfect! In fact rather than staying tight
lipped over your kids antics sharing them
would probably get hundreds of responses
of what their kids have done over the years!!
3 people like this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
19 Mar 18
Each child is good at their own thing.. and at the end of the day the grades aren't all that important.
My oldest got horrible grades because he didn't put in the effort. He hated school, hated all of his teachers. He didn't go to college.. you can't get a kid who hates school to voluntarily continue his education. He's now working a security job, been living on his own for 2 years, and rarely ever asks me for any help... btw he's 21.
Your child doesn't have to be extraordinary at anything.. not everyone is. He just has to be happy, healthy, and loved.
PS, people on FB tend to be full of dog doo anyways!
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
26 Mar 18
@jillybean1222 I get those days too. There's a group of girls about the same age as my daughter and their mothers are the biggest braggers I know. My daughter is friendly with these girls, but when I see some posts on FB I just get livid.. but I have to remind myself their lives aren't as great as they try to claim on FB.
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
25 Mar 18
yes, i completely know you are right. you know as a mother how you worry and worry about your kids. and last week was a rough with him.
@much2say (53941)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Mar 18
With social media, most people tend to show their best/better sides. There have been many instances where I'd talk to certain friends in person about their Facebook posts, and they would tell me the back stories - not everything is glorious and great as it seems - even with their kids. Parenting is tough period - I feel ya!
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
25 Mar 18
ah, it jus feels like it sometimes. i have one friend who it just seems always has advice for me because her kids are so great. sigh.
@LadyDuck (460475)
• Switzerland
19 Mar 18
Listen, I see many children here, they are all the same. When they are together they always do something bad. Some parents acknowledge the fact, others say that it is impossible because they kids NEVER misbehave (that is not true). To convince one of my neighbor I took a video of his son doing exactly the same as the others kids in the neighborhood. So you think I convinced her? No, the others were guilty, surely the only time his son did something like this.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (460475)
• Switzerland
25 Mar 18
@jillybean1222 One of my neighbors thinks the same, but her kids are far from being perfect.
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
25 Mar 18
yes, i have a friend who seriously thinks her kids are perfect. and i know they aren't.
1 person likes this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
19 Mar 18
Parenting teenagers is the hardest job! It's good that your children are not like "all the others". It could mean that they have something to offer that the world hasnt seen yet. :-)
1 person likes this
