After reading a few threads in the last days about parenting, it strikes me that we don't get good feedback very often about the job we are doing raising our kids. Many people have left work to have their babies, a workplace where their work was reviewed and where they were told when they were doing a good job or given guidance on areas to improve. There is not much of that going on as a parent. We are often left to sort it all out ourselves or to compare ourselves to others - not a great idea when we never have the full picture to compare. Although we may know that we are doing a good job or at least have a general idea, sometimes the daily grind can get the better of us, sometimes we can question what we are doing when the long term goals are yet to pay off and sometimes we just have a crap day and need someone to let us know we are on the right track.

I've been struggling with the behaviour of my two in the last little while and with the sheer exhaustion of not having proper sleep for the last 4 years I am feeling a bit lost in this parenting caper. I received an email from a friend who is also a parent yesterday, a friend I really admire and constantly inspires me to be a better parent, more calm, more considerate and more attuned. She ended the email by telling me I was doing a great job as a mum. It felt wonderful and absolutely fueled me to head back into the fray with a renewed sense of purpose. I try to make an effort to tell mums I know who I admire that I think they are awesome and I try to tell them exactly what it is I admire about them but I think that sometimes I forget, or I think I have told them but I haven't.

Anyway, this is a reminder to turn to a mum or a dad you admire and tell them that you do. Tell them they are doing an awesome job, give them a performance review!