5 Parenting Mistakes and Easy Fixes to Correct Them

As parents, we tend to have high expectations of ourselves. The fact is that kids don't come with an owner's manual, so we rely on our instincts and the guidance of others, particularly during the beginning years, to hopefully get it right. Even though we're trying our best, several common parenting mistakes crop up and can be detrimental over time if neglected.

These five problems may seem innocent enough but can derail your parental authority if ignored. If any are relatable, don't worry, these solutions can put you back on track.

Parenting Mistake #1: Life without rules

Before I began parenting my brood of eight, I didn't realize there were several parenting styles. Because of my 5-year-bout with infertility, I had plenty of time to daydream about how I would raise my kids. Initially, I thought it would be wise to let them have as much freedom as possible because I wanted their independence and creativity to soar. This style of parenting is known as "free-range" (and the term speaks for itself). It was coined by Lenore Skenazy, who famously let her 9-year-old son find his way home on the New York City subway system alone and wrote about it in her New York Sun column. A free-range parenting philosophy is about allowing children to grow and develop without a great deal of parental intevention.

The complete opposite of a free-range style is that of a helicopter parent, one who constantly hovers over their child so if any problem arises, they're close by to solve it for them.

I learned quickly that neither of those styles was for me, but a combination of both worked well.

The Fix: Impose boundaries

My pediatrician turned me on to one of my greatest parenting weapons—setting and enforcing boundaries. I had four kids under the age of three, and she saw how overwhelmed I was. Her advice was to create a loving home environment that included rules and limitations. She also shared that kids, including teens, secretly crave boundaries. She was right! My kids always did better when they had firm expectations.

An easy way to set boundaries is to incorporate them into your daily routines. Once your kids know what to expect, you'll be able to implement clear guidelines for all areas of your life, and you'll stay on task with an orderly and chaos-free home.

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