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Kids are truly something else. This statement does not speak to today's kids only, but all kids.
Your children are your pride and joy, but at the same time, they are also incredibly embarrassing, but for who exactly?
The mischievous behaviour, the pushing of the boundaries, the carelessness, the lack of thinking before acting or speaking, the act of speaking without knowing what's been said, the copious amounts of temper tantrums... it is not a reflection of you or your parenting skills, says Kristen Bell.
Bell, the well-known voice behind Frozen's Princess Anna of Arendelle, says when you're watching your children's behaviour deteriorate right before your eyes, it's easy to think it's a reflection on you, as a parent, that you've failed in some way.
In an interview with Babble, Bell was questioned about the most embarrassing things her kids, Lincoln (3) and Delta (2), have done. Bell said she doesn't feel a certain way when her kids do embarrassing things, because she reckons if her kids are misbehaving in public, they are just kids misbehaving in public.
In essence, the embarrassment shouldn't lie with the parent, but rather the child. Bell adds that kids will have a few "less-than-graceful moments and tantrums until they grow up" and that it's okay. They will develop a solid sense of right from wrong.
Writer Chaunie Brusie also mentions how her kids decide to have these types of outbursts when she's already exhausted, and in turn thinks she is being judged and perceived as a bad mom because she's had four kids before turning 28.
Bell added she has to remind herself that everyone, kids included, have "the right" to act a certain way and if you, as a mom or dad, feels embarrassed by your child's shenanigans, you need to work on your self-esteem first before blaming your child for how you're feeling.
Essentially, the only person's behaviour you can control is your own.
Kids often say the most atrocious things, and there are times when we have to compose ourselves in a grave attempt to not lose our cool and then there are times when we have to hold it together so we don't burst out laughing... like the kids in this clip:
It doesn't matter how "perfect" you may think you are as a parent, it's almost like it's our kids' destiny to prove us wrong, but they don't know the joke's on them because these stories make for great 21st birthday speeches!
