Deep in the throes of parenthood are days filled with laughter, joy, good behavior, well rested moms (is that real?), and babies that don’t cry. If we’re being honest though, most days are not those days. I can assure you, that for us, those days are few and very far between. Most days for us look like toddler meltdowns, breaking the same rules 538 times, timeouts and chit chats about how hitting your sister ain’t exactly the best way to show her you love her. Also screaming, lots of screaming.

Not long ago, I found myself biting my tongue. I started to feel that if all I ever said was don’t do that, or you’re being naughty, or that makes mommy sad, that my kids would grow up thinking they couldn’t make me happy, that all they did was make me angry or disappointed. I began to fear disciplining my children. I wanted them to fear the consequences for their actions, but I didn’t want them to fear me.

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