Recommended Reading

Daring Greatly:
How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the
Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
by Brene Brown

Parenting is the ultimate exercise in vulnerability and imperfection. Yet, in our culture of comparison and social media sharing, we create impossible standards for ourselves and strive for picture-perfect parenting moments. It is hard to admit our struggles.
To anyone who falls into the perfectionism parenting trap, I highly recommend checking out Brene Brown's work. With a background in social work and many years of research on shame and perfectionism, Brown encourages parents to see the value of vulnerability, honesty, and emotional openness. I can't say enough positive things about Brown's research, her books, and the grace and humility with which she addresses her own parenting experiences.
"Somewhere buried deep inside our hopes and fears for our children is the terrifying truth that there is no such thing as perfect parenting and there are no guarantees. From debates about attachment parenting and how much better they parent in Europe to disparagement of 'tiger moms' and helicopter parents, the heated discussions that occupy much of the national parenting conversation conveniently distract us from this important and difficult truth: Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting."