This week is mental health awareness week and it's at times like this that we should think about how hard we are on ourselves. As parents, we all want our children to grow up into perfect little individual people, but from the day they are born, all we do is compare them to other children. There is always that amazing baby who sleeps through the night from day 1, when you hear this it makes you feel like the only person who does not get any sleep. Then, when your little ones start on solids and you are struggling  with your baby who simply does not enjoy new tastes and textures, once again there will be that perfect baby who takes to it like a duck to water and will demolish everything that is put in front of them, there will also be that parent who is happy to share this with you! It does not stop there, you will get the early talkers, the early walkers, the early sharers, the early socialisers, the early readers, the early writers, the list goes on forever and we as parents will beat ourselves up as our children are not turning into the perfect people that we aspire to.

This is where I step in to tell you that ALL of your children are amazing, all of your children are individual and all of your children will grow and flourish at a different rate. Try not to compare them with other children as this will leave you feeling stressed and incompetent, it is also no good for your mental health. This week is a good week to start thinking about your mental health, celebrate what your children CAN do, not what they can't do. Enjoy your time with them, feeling good that you are that amazing person/people who have brought a little person into the world, nurtured them, cared for them, loved them and watched them grow. Be kind to yourself, stop comparing and be PROUD of what you have done.

And finally, our positive thought of the week:

The only person who can pull me down is myself and I'm not going to let myself pull me down anymore.

If you have a parenting concern, you can contact Mrs Easty via the school office - admin@burlingtoni.org.uk