I personally think that all parents are superheros with unsung superpowers. I have met and known MANY mums in my lifetime, so far. I have worked as a nanny, a children’s nurse, and now I have my own children and also work with families and young children, and in that time I have seen so many examples of how mums battle through and whilst their superpowers may not be akin to being able to blow things up with their minds, or move objects through the air, or fly, or be invisible, they are, in my mind, far more powerful and important. I think every mum, in her own way, is trying to do her best, and using everything in her, to parent her family using skills she has, but also learning as she goes. I know for me, a lot of the time, this mum thing has been about learning on the job.
It has taken me a long time to recognize my own self worth and parenting super powers, even though I have admired many other mums and parents.
So, today I am going to bare my soul and share my superpower with you. I have one, it isn’t world changing and I certainly won’t be receiving any accolades on a stage or rewards for it, but it keeps our little family functioning and I am proud of myself. I don’t have my own mum around to help me with this journey, so a lot of what I have learned and the skills I have are from what I have realised within myself and also from watching those around me.
I am patient, far more patient than I give myself credit for. I often don’t feel patient, but in fact I am. I have a child who needs more patience and input than average and somehow, I have learned to give that. Being a mum to a child with higher needs, means you need to dig deeper inside to the reserves you have to be able to cope every day. Patience also helps me to do my day job, to work with families and their children. It helps me to be kind, and calm when a mum is struggling, it helps me to have capacity to take a screaming toddler from his exhausted mum, so she can go to the toilet, grab a cup of coffee and have a few minutes peace, to give her a little time, to regather her own patience. Patience also makes me tolerant to the crazy around me, in the job that I do, and then when I come home to my own children who need me, and what I have to give.
Patience helps me to get up in the middle of the night, when my small son has woken up for the third time, with a bad dream, or not being able to go back to sleep.
Patience helps me to handle my small boy when he doesn’t want to get dressed for school, and is having a meltdown about it.
Patience helps me to breathe and smile, and retain my sense of humour when my tweenager is having a moment, and is giving me a hard time when she claims she can’t find anything to wear, and it’s apparently my fault that the one jumper she wanted hasn’t been washed because I didn’t use my magic powers to find it under her bed, where she left it, and get it washed because she needed it.
Patience helps me to deal with mornings when most of the family aren’t morning people, with the school run, with mealtimes when it feels like we live in zoo, with the constant busy-ness that is family life where we seem to constantly be on the go.
Patience helps me to sit with them and do homework that is very different from the homework I did, oh so long ago. (Google also helps with this! ;))
Patience mostly helps me keep life going when we are all tired and feeling the strain. It helps me to be there to hand out cuddles and kisses, to negotiate when the sibling squabbles are making the day seem like working for the United Nations would be a less stressful option than motherhood.
Patience helps me to go to the fridge and come up with dinner, when I have forgotten to meal plan but have also invited extra children home for a playdate and tea…
Patience helps me when the husband calls me to say he’s been pulled into a meeting and won’t be home for bedtime, when he knows that at the end of the day, I am probably worn out and could do with an allie in the battle to get the kids into bed in a calm fashion. (wine also helps here, too!)
It’s not a superpower that makes me fly, or saves people from burning buildings, or stops wars, but it helps me to keep life as a mum going. I haven’t perfected it, and in fact I am still learning how to use this superpower, and sometimes I fail miserably or it backfires on me, or I simply cannot summon it up. But it’s there and it’s the part of me that has helped me to cope in this job they call “being mum” and I am proud that I have it.
Every parent has a superpower, what’s yours? I think we should all be proud and share, as we walk this journey… You can also enter a competition to share your superpower too.
Share a video or image of your parenting super powers with npower at familysuperpowers.com for a chance to win one of three UK theme park resort breaks
I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.
I agreed that parents always need patience. Because when your children are naughty, you can not hit them, you must be very patient to teach them what is wrong what is right. Thank you for a good article!