Perfect is overrated...

My kids are in no way perfect. Shocked?? Didn't think so. Seriously, I have been thinking a lot lately about the lofty standards we set for our kids sometimes. I am a firm believer in positive parenting. I fail miserably at it a lot of the time, but I try. However, some people take it too far. Your child needs to know failure. Austin is teaching me this lesson. I used to let him win at board games a lot. I don't anymore. He got to where if he lost at something he came unglued. Over the past year or two he is learning to lose more gracefully....sometimes. That is just one example of course. I think we are so worried about our kids' self esteem that we forget that they eventually have to leave our nest and live in the real world. They have to know rejection, and failure. The lesson I hope my kids learn is that failure is an opportunity to try again. We need to teach our kids that even when they fail, mess up, or fall down, that we as their parents still love them to the ends of the earth and back. Most importantly, I want my kids to know that no matter what that Jesus loves them. That is all that matters.