Things I Said I’d Never Do as a Mom – a Running List

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Remember when you had all those strong opinions about parenting before you actually became a parent?

Yeah, me too. I had a whole mental list of things I would absolutely never do when I had kids. I watched other moms with their snack-covered minivans and iPad-wielding toddlers and thought, “Not me.”

Turns out, pre-baby me was adorably naive. She had no idea what was coming. Here’s my running list of every parenting promise that I’ve (mostly) abandoned.

1. Screen Time Before Age Two

I used to be that person who quoted the AAP guidelines at dinner parties. No screens before two! Brain development! Social skills!

Then I had an actual child. Well, make that two.

I did pretty well with the screen time rule when I had one. Then, she got a sister. Screentime became how I survived bottle times and nap times for the newborn.

Do I feel guilty? Sometimes. But her sister is fed, so I had to prioritize.

2. Snacks That Aren’t at the Table

Pre-kid me had visions of civilized snack times at the kitchen table with napkins and proper portions in cute little bowls.

Current me knows that snacks happen wherever they need to happen. The car. The stroller. The grocery store cart. I am sometimes guilty of throwing a snack at them when they get cranky.

My robot vacuum and I have made peace with it.

3. Actually Caring About the Nap Schedule

I used to roll my eyes at moms who planned their entire lives around nap time. Just bring the kid! They’ll sleep when they’re tired!

Then I learned the hard truth. A well-rested child is the difference between a pleasant afternoon and hell on earth.

I used to not believe people when they said kids would wake up earlier when they stayed up late. But, I found out the hard truth somewhere around 4:30 am on multiple occasions. It turns out that it’s true if you miss a nap, you pay for it before and at bedtime.

4. Repeating Myself More Than Once

I do believe that repeating yourself as a parent can make you look weak. I watched parents ask their kids to do something seventeen times and thought “just make them listen the first time.”

And somehow, I catch myself doing it all the time. It’s as if I zone out and come back to reality and realized I’ve said the same thing four times.

Let’s just say it’s something I’m working on.

5. Buying Plastic Toys That Light Up and Make Noise

I was going to be a wooden-toys-only, Montessori-inspired, minimal-waste parent. Everything would be natural and educational and aesthetically pleasing.

Then relatives started gifting things. And my kid loved the annoying light-up toy. And I realized that pretending to dislike toys my child enjoys doesn’t make me a good parent.

So now we have the musical table that plays the same four songs on repeat, the plastic phone that never stops ringing, light-up sneakers that I specifically said we’d never buy.

6. Letting Them Sleep in My Bed

I read all the sleep training books. We were going to have boundaries. The crib was their space. Our bed was our space. Everyone would sleep in their designated areas like civilized humans.

We had a good streak until we went on an overnight trip. They were scared and so we bent the rules.

However, we have still stick to the – we sleep in your own bed – rule at home, at least.

So here we are. Every single thing I swore I’d never do, I now do on a regular basis. But overall, my kids are loved and fed and generally not licking shopping carts.

Parenting isn’t about keeping all your pre-baby promises. It’s about figuring out what actually works for your family and letting go of the stuff that doesn’t matter. And if that means screens and snacks and sleeping in your bed? Well, we’re all doing just fine.

What are some things you’ve let go? Let me know in the comments.

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