My Epic Parenting Fail And How I Overcame It

My Epic Parenting Fail And How I Overcame It

Being a parent is tough in ways you might not expect. Grab yourself a cuppa and read on to find out about my epic parenting fail.

“She didn’t come!”

I heard the words. And I had absolutely no idea what was being said to me.

In the half darkness of the early morning light I could see GinGin standing next to my bed. Her big brown eyes filled with tears.

She was trying to hold them back.

But she was so very unhappy.

“She didn’t come mummy” GinGin repeated.

I pulled her in close for a big mummy-daughter squeeze. Trying to absorb all her sadness so she didn’t have to feel it.

“Who didn’t come baby?

“The tooth-fairy. She didn’t come for my tooth!”

Oh S**t!

I had the worst feeling of dread bubbling inside me.

Read about the most important mama-lesson I’ve learned so far next.

And So My Epic Parent Fail Begins

Most days of being a mummy are filled with guilt one way or another.

Guilty about being at work instead of at home with our kids. Or about being at home with the kids and not contributing much to the family budget. Or taking five minutes to gulp down that three-times-reheated cold cup of coffee.

We’re mamas and we feel guilty about lots of things we shouldn’t feel guilty about.

But this guilt was real. It was mine and I needed to own it.

Let me rewind just a bit.

You see most kids start to lose their baby teeth when they’re aged about five or six.

The first wobbly tooth is a real milestone.

Search for #toothfairytime and you’ll be amazed to see almost 100K posts about this particular “my child’s first” on Instagram.

Anyway, the first couple of wobbly teeth are a cause of real excitement.

You’ll be caught up in the giddy wave of childhood magic as your baby realises that they’ll be visited by the tooth-fairy for the first time. AND they’ll be gifted a shiny gold coin in exchange for their tooth.

That’s the magic of childhood right there.

But, once the first tooth has fallen out, the rest just seem to follow right along.

GinGin lost her first few teeth ages ago. And, at the time of this real-life story, this was the third of three teeth that she lost in just under two weeks.

So we were well into the routine of tooth-fairy visits.

It was in the school holidays and my parents were staying with us.

Basically life was pretty busy, and I totally forgot about the tooth under GinGin’s pillow when we went to bed that night.

It was a major parenting fail of epic proportions.

Read about how damaging “perfect” can be next.

So How Did I Overcome My Epic Parenting Fail?

Confronted with my tearful little angel, the best I could offer her in the moment was a hug and a kiss on the head.

She was starting to doubt that the tooth-fairy was real! I did my best to reassure her.

I told her that the tooth-fairy must just have been super-busy and that she’d trusted GinGin to look after her tooth for just one more day. You know, because she’s a very grown-up, trustworthy girl.

And so GinGin wiped away her tears and nodded. She wasn’t happy. But she wasn’t utterly devastated anymore either.

Phew!

We went downstairs for breakfast whereupon GinGin shared her tale of woe with my mum. And then later my dad too.

Now everybody knew I was in the poop.

But I had a plan!

That night, when GinGin & Roo had gone to bed, I made sure the tooth-fairy would visit. And she would leave more than just a coin!

The next morning GinGin came bounding into my room once again.

“She’s been, mummy, she’s been!”

This time I knew exactly what she was talking about.

“She couldn’t come the night before, Mummy, because it was her birthday!”

GinGin was giggling almost uncontrollably. And in her and she was clutching a tiny piece of paper.

“How do you know it was her birthday?” I asked.

“Listen to this mummy” said GinGin. And she merrily read out loud a letter the tooth-fairy had left for her, along with the shiny gold coin.

All was right with the world again.

I’d found the perfect way to overcome my epic parenting fail.

And, guess what. When another one of GinGin’s teeth came out a couple of days before Christmas, she received a Christmas card from the tooth-fairy too!

What Next?

If you like this post then you might enjoy these to:

• Head Lice: How to Get Rid of Them for Good
• I Bought a Slow Cooker and I Love It!
• My 5 Top Picks: Gifts for a One-Year Old
• Help! My Toddler Hates Having a Bath

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