It’s going to be messy.”īelow, parents comment on some of the typical ways we parent differently than we thought we would before having kids, while Rope offers some insights on why this is absolutely OK. It’s not going to look anything like you imagined. “The reality is that you’ve never done this before. “I think we have an unrealistic expectation that we should know exactly how to parent,” Rope says. “Parenting is so different than we think it’s going to be,” says Kate Rope, a journalist, mom to two and author of “ Strong As a Mother: How to Stay Healthy, Happy, and (Most Importantly) Sane from Pregnancy to Parenthood.”Īs a journalist who specializes in maternal mental health and parenting, Rope believes most parents approach the role with unrealistic expectations. Then, our baby was actually born, and my ideals were replaced by reality. (Do such children really exist?)Ĭertainly, I’d never become the kind of mom who would shove a screen in their child’s face so I could squeeze in a shower - or so I thought. The easy baby of my imagination naturally transitioned into an obedient toddler, the kind of kid who can entertain himself for hours playing quietly with classic wooden educational toys. In this pre-parenting fantasy, discipline was never really a consideration. At the same time, somehow, my child would adapt to my lifestyle.

Until then, I’d be your perfect exemplar of attachment parenting, keeping my baby close at all times and never purposely letting him cry. When he was old enough, he’d sit politely at the table and eat a miniature portion of whatever I served his dad. Until my child naturally transitioned to homemade purees. Prior to parenting, I had it all figured out - or so I thought.

Strong As a Mother by Kate Rope