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Family + Lifestyle

5 Waterfalls to Visit in Georgia

Emily Flanders - July 10, 2021

Atlanta Lifestyle

Atlanta Area Pick-Your-Own Blueberry Farms

Atlanta Mom - June 22, 2021

In + Around ATL

Water Attractions and Outdoor Water Fun In and Around Atlanta

Tara Schoeller - May 31, 2021

Back-to-School Clothes: Where to Score the Best Deals

Back-to-School Clothes: Where to Score the Best Deals

Back to School Colleen - July 25, 2021 0

A Different Kind of Normal

Finding a Different Kind of Normal After Loss

Family + Lifestyle Diana - July 25, 2021 0

When our small private school opened with face-to-face learning on August 6th, 2020 I was certain things were about to get better. My twins...

Sleepaway Camp: Amazing for Kid, Hard on Mom

Sleepaway Camp: Amazing for Kid, Hard on Mom

Ages + Stages Dana - July 25, 2021 0

My eldest son recently returned home from an 11-day sleepaway camp in the North Georgia mountains. He returned a bit taller, his voice was a...

Back-to-School Hacks From Some of the Smartest Moms-I-Know

Back-to-School Hacks from Some of the Smartest Moms I Know

Back to School Tracie - July 24, 2021 0

It’s hard to believe, but a brand new school year is upon us. We all know there is more on the agenda than simply...

Where to Score the Best Back-To-School Deals

Where to Score the Best Back-to-School Deals

Back to School Vanessa - July 24, 2021 0

We may still be in summer, but it's not too early to start thinking about going back to school. Before you know it, it'll...

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Travel

Hitting the Road: All You Need to Know about RV Travel

Hitting the Road: All You Need to Know about RV Travel

Ashley - May 1, 2021 0

RV travel seems to be more popular than ever before. Especially in these unprecedented times when traditional travel has been restricted, there are even...

Great Wolf Lodge

Atlanta Lifestyle

Great Wolf Lodge: Helpful Tips

Kathy - May 1, 2021 0

For years I have seen posts from friends around the country who have visited Great Wolf Lodge. I always thought it would be fun....

Ages + Stages

Sleepaway Camp: Amazing for Kid, Hard on Mom

Sleepaway Camp: Amazing for Kid, Hard on Mom

Dana - July 25, 2021

Hiking with Littles - A Survival Guide

5 Tips for Hiking with Young Kids

Jill Leary - July 18, 2021

A Re-Feathered Nest

A Re-Feathered Nest

Alison - July 11, 2021

Marriage + Relationships

ATL

Atlanta Day Date Ideas

Traci - June 1, 2021

The Divorce Cat

Jessie Peele - June 1, 2021

Find and Give Happiness 365 Days a Year

Lauren Race - December 17, 2020

atlanta.mom

The Premier Parenting Website for Families in the Atlanta Area

Fans are calling 📣 😩 . . . #motherhood #pare

Fans are calling 📣 😩
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#motherhood #parenting #atlantamoms #atlantamom

Because I was a competitive swimmer throughout my

Because I was a competitive swimmer throughout my childhood and young adulthood, I revered the games as the ultimate achievement in the sport. I still remember the names (and faces) of the athletes I had plastered on posters on my bedroom walls. Gary Hall Jr., Amy VanDyken, Amanda Beard, Brooke Bennett, Jenny Thompson. Legends in the swimming world!

The United States Men and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams simply dominated the rest of the world that year. While it was a pre-Michael Phelps era of swimming, many world, and American records were broken in that pool on the Georgia Tech campus. While my own personal aspirations of becoming an athlete of that caliber would ultimately never come to fruition, I spent loads of time in my childhood dreaming of what it would be like to climb that podium and win a medal for my country. The pride, the confidence, the endless hours of work that had been put in.

As the 2021 games are upon us, and I’m now nearly 8 years into my parenting journey, my perspective on the athletes has changed. (Fun fact: my oldest daughter was born during the Sochi Winter Games! We watched ski jumping in the delivery room between contractions). I used to look at the athletes and envision myself in their shoes. But as I’ve grown older, and my own children have begun their own sports “careers,” I find myself relating much more closely to the mothers of those world-class athletes.

Read more at atlantamom.com {link in bio}
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#olympics #olympics2021 #parenting

I just cleaned 🧼 😭

I just cleaned 🧼 😭

I imagine most parents would agree it only gets ha

I imagine most parents would agree it only gets harder in big kid territory. In a blink, our children breeze past navigating playground etiquette and dive headfirst into the more nuanced waters of friendship, dating, and life-impacting decision making. They start facing grown-up situations that they’ve never encountered before and let’s be honest: they don’t really know what they are doing.

But, with decades of life experience, the gift of hindsight, and a fully developed brain, guess who does? You got it – those of us who are parenting them.

It’s no wonder it’s so difficult to let go and allow our kids to make their own way.

I’ve got to be honest: I’m a huge culprit of this. My struggle is multi-faceted, but it lies primarily in the pressure that I feel as the stakes get higher for my older children. Big kid mess-ups can bring about big consequences, and there’s major fear wrapped up in that for me. But, even little missteps can get our kids into situations that make their journeys harder for them. It’s difficult to watch our children stumble, especially if we know that they’ve brought it upon themselves.

The other aspect of this, though, rests solely in my pride. I can’t help but worry about how my kids’ behavior reflects on me as a parent. And, it doesn’t have to be a serious offense for this to be true. It can be as simple as my child managing a friend situation in a way that is contrary to what my adult self knows is best. Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect that our still-learning children navigate these moments in the way that wise and healthy grown-ups do, but my fear of judgment often tempts me to step in too far.

Here’s what my heart knows for sure: Even though there were times when it would have felt “easier” to just tie my toddler girl’s shoes already, she would never have mastered it if I hadn’t given her the freedom to do so. In the same way, if I don’t allow my kids the leeway to call their own shots as they inch toward adulthood, they’ll never build the emotional muscle necessary to navigate the sticky parts of life.

I simply can’t do this growing-up thing for my kids.
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#growingup #olderkids #raisingbigkids #parenting

I mean what can I say? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I mean what can I say? 🤷🏻‍♀️

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