Mum Life

7 things I wish I knew before becoming a mum

I used to be the perfect mum.

I’d hear my girlfriends bribe their kids to behave, and I’d shake my head in judgement. ‘No wonder kids are so entitled these days’; I’d think to myself. 

I’d see toddlers glued to iPads in cafes and I’d tsk-tsk their parents for being lazy. ‘Our kids will never use screens at mealtime’, I’d whisper to my husband.

I’d roll my eyes up in disbelief every time a mum complained about how tired and unappreciated she was. ‘Seriously, how hard could it be?’, I’d snigger.

And then three days into motherhood, I came to the scary realisation that I wasn’t the perfect mum I thought I would be.

If I could turn back time, I’d apologise to all the mums I judged with my smug ‘I’ll be better than you’ attitude. I’d offer to hold their crying colicky baby, entertain their spirited toddler or just fold one of their many loads of washing.

And I would listen. Really listen. Because there are so many things that I now wish I had known before I became a mum.

Continue reading