The Worst Parenting Habits

1. Judging other parents. This one’s hard for us all. We’ve all seen that parent, the one yelling at their kids in the Target check-out. The mom who ushers her kids through the McDonalds drive-thru for dinner and the dad who lets his kids stay up past 10pm on a school night. Yes, sure, fine, you’re right – they could all make better choices, and maybe they should. But instead of focusing your energy on their wrongs, spend more time focusing on what you do that’s right. Every time you have a parenting ‘win,’ give yourself a little credit. Go ahead, revel in your parental awesomeness! You do you, so to speak. Let the rest bother you not.

2. Negative self-talk. Ever say something about yourself that isn’t so flattering? “Ugh, I feel SO FAT today.” “Man, I’m so stupid!” We all have our moments, for sure, but think twice about such negative self-talk – especially when your kids are within earshot. Our kids look up to us, we provide them comfort and safety. So how does it feel to a kid to know their own mom or dad doesn’t think of themselves as particularly smart or awesome, if even for a moment? Not great. And if your kiddo hears these things relatively often, don’t be surprised if they start saying the same about themselves. And we don’t need our own insecurities pawned off to our children, do we? Be kind to yourself!

And while we're at it – when was the last time you caught yourself being negative? When was the last time you caught a criticism roll of your tongue?

It's crazy, isn't it? Take a minute and check out the rest of this list on Scary Mommy and then leave us a comment and share which bad habits you're guilty of. I'll bet at least a few.