My Taylor Swift Parenting Mantra
Taylor Swift has always been relatable to me. Like many of her fans say, I feel like I grew up with her. When she dropped her new album Midnights I stayed up until the release at midnight just so I could listen to “Anti-Hero”. The title really stuck out to me and I love the song itself and relate to it in many ways.
Even though Taylor isn’t a mom to human children, I still managed to find a way to relate “Anti-Hero” to motherhood, and oddly enough I use it every day to help me, using lyrics as my parenting mantra.
Respectful/Gentle Parenting toddlers can be hard to implement in stressful situations especially when you’re a tired mom running on fumes and haven’t had a chance to care for yourself. I find myself apologizing to my children more than I care to admit for my overreactions. Oftentimes it’s not even my children’s behavior that is the real problem, but my reaction to their behavior. Sometimes my reactions can intensify their behavior and instead of meeting them to bring them down to calm, I’m meeting them in their chaos.
“It’s me, Hi. I’m the problem it’s me.”
That’s when I pull this little melody out of my brain. I try really hard to make it a habit to always ask myself, “Is this behavior really bad enough for me to be reacting this way? How can I manage my emotions so I can bring them down instead of triggering more chaos?” Enter Taylor Swift and her catchy little tune.
Children’s behavior can be incredibly triggering. They are learning how to navigate the world and our reactions, good and bad, are etched directly into their emotional blueprint. They learn to manage emotions and behavior from us. It’s a lot to remember at the moment when I just want them to stop screaming in the store, people are giving me dirty looks, and the world just feels extra heavy. That’s when I ask myself “Is it me? Am I the problem?” and then I can take a breath before reacting.
It’s so hard to parent when I’m also feeling overwhelmed but finding ways to calm myself can help so much in the tough moments. Having a mantra really helps me, as a parent. It helps me make better decisions on what to do next to help everyone through the moment.
Taylor Swift just happened to write the perfect little parenting mantra to remind me to evaluate the situation before proceeding.
