With the back-to-school madness in full swing, it's easy to feel overwhelmed as a parent. You're not alone. Our Mamarama bloggers admit that although they don't always know best, they always do their best. Here's what they've learned along the way. REDBOOK.
Mother and sonOn mommy instincts:
"We moms get good at reading our kids - I can tell just from the look in my son's eyes if he has a fever, and I can see a toddler tantrum brewing in my sweet daughter like a storm on the horizon." - Charlotte Hilton Andersen
On teaching lessons:
"I work hard to teach my children to be responsible for their actions, to think before they make rash decisions, and to always remember that there are real people on the other end of those feelings. These are lessons that I wish I hadn't learned with life experience but had absorbed the first 10 times they were told to me." - Carmen Staicer
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On defining parenthood:
"Parenthood was thrilling and challenging in so many ways…What I found was that it was kind of liberating to start both marriage and parenthood from scratch. Growing up without a father wasn't a loss for us, it was an opportunity to redefine our own ideas of what marriage and parenting should be." - Carmen Stacier
On explaining an absentee dad:
"I know you miss your dad… I would never choose to leave you and I will always want to come back for you. Did I tell you already? I super, super love you." - Alicia Harper
On TIME'S Breastfeeding Cover
"I bottle-fed, and I breastfed, and before I knew it, they were all eating stale french fries off the floor of the minivan, and I was like, whatever, thanks for cleaning." - Joslyn Gray
On the busy lives of moms:
We grumble and groan about how much work we do, how long it takes, how late we stay up, and everything that we do without, but most of that is for show. It's almost like we are competing against each other in the Martyr Olympics." - Carmen Staicer
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On teaching work ethic:
"I've always told my kids that doing their chores was part of the family contract they signed when they were born into this family - didn't you get your copy at the hospital? - and despite all their whining, I think deep down (really really deep down) they're grateful that I'm teaching them how to work." - Charlotte Hilton Andersen
On protecting children:
"Somewhere right now my mother is laughing herself silly as she waves a picture of me as a toddler walking barefoot through a playground with an asphalt surface and rusty metal equipment with so many exposed nails they had a tetanus shot dispenser right next to the hand sanitizer. Kidding! There was no hand sanitizer. My mom once accused me of trying to bubble-wrap my kids. Which of course is ridiculous because they'd suffocate, choke, or get poisoned by the carcinogens. Otherwise I might have." - Charlotte Hilton Andersen
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On kids' lyric blunders:
"My first-grader sings, 'I'm 60 and I know it' for LMFAO's 'Sexy and I Know It.'" - Jennifer Prentice Cornelius
"Instead of 'Moves Like Jagger,' my 5-year-old thinks it's 'I've got to move those carrots.'" - Kimberly Sims
"My son always sang, 'All the single lettuce' instead of 'All the Single Ladies.'" - Stephanie Moore Todd
On single motherhood:
"He gets to see my struggles and successes, trials and triumphs. I was working full time when I had him. Then, he saw me as a full-time graduate school student. Now, he knows me as a working mom. He sees my hard work and the fruits of my labor. If that doesn't teach the kid resilience and perseverance and help him build character, then I don't know what will!" - Alicia Harper
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On the perks of having a mama's boy:
On bedtime moments:
"I'll tuck him in at night and whisper into his ear, 'You're the best part of my day... I love you.' He really is, and I really do. He'll say, 'Mommy, I super love you.' It warms my heart, and I realize that I have a little guy who may be annoying at times, but he's still turning out to be such a great person." - Alicia Harper
For more heartwarming, laugh-out-loud mom insights, visit Redbookmag.com.
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