The Perfectly Imperfect Parent

This is an idea that's been floating around my head for quite a few months now but I haven't had the time before to sit down, put pen to paper and really work out what it's all about.

Until now.

And I am so excited to share it with you. And a bit nervous, truth be told.

I know that there's a lot of other Linky's out there in the blogosphere, some of which I regularly take part in, like #MySundayPhoto, #SilentSunday, #MeandMine and #MeandYou, plus I love Jocelyn's Bring Back Paper idea and want to get involved, so I just didn't know whether I could make my idea work or if other people would want to post and link in with me.

But you don't know until you try. So, here I am. Introducing 'The Perfectly Imperfect Parent' blogger link up, new for 2015!

What's it all about then? What's an 'imperfect parent'?

Well, to me, it's all of us. We all want to be the best mum or dad that we can be but, sometimes, there's too much pressure to 'be perfect' - and often, this comes from within.

For a long time now, I have come across comments here and there from other bloggers and mums on Instagram or blog posts about how 'perfect' other people's lives seem to be or how much we wish we could be more organised / clean / creative / fun / stylish like the mums we see on our social feeds. It's great to see what other people are doing, to share ideas and to be inspired, as long as we don't take things too much to heart or as a negative comment on our own lives or way of doing things.

The reality is that what we see on social media is only a version of reality. Instagram comes with a filter and cropping function, sadly life does not. We might like to cut certain things out from view or put a colourful spin on things but life, and being a parent, is a mix of highs and lows, achievements and challenges, good and bad.

I think we can all be our own worst enemies, forgetting to take what we see or read with a pinch of salt and instead, we can end up measuring ourselves up against ideals that are very hard to obtain or uphold.

The idea of this new Linky is very much to 'keep it real' and celebrate what it really means to be a parent. No filters. Plenty of honesty. And a lot of support for other parents who are imperfectly perfect in their own way.

There's no such thing as a perfect mum or dad and we are all trying to do our best, in our own way. That's all we can do and we should celebrate this more rather than letting things make us feel like we're failing in some way. I started this blog because I wanted a place to share my thoughts, interests and memories and it has become a great support network. Becoming a mum or dad is a huge learning curve and you never stop learning how to become a parent so the more we can do to share the 'real' side of parenting, the better we will all feel.

The Perfectly Imperfect Parent is about celebrating YOU and giving you the chance to confess, reveal, share or rant about anything you want. Being a parent isn't all play-dates and perfectly presented and behaved children. It's not all lovingly made meals that your children eat up without question - sometimes said meal ends up on the floor, but that's ok. It's all ok. No-one is perfect and sharing our real experiences now and then is a great way to get things off your chest. There's no judgement here!

So, are you a PIP? (as I am affectionately calling us!)

However big or small, I'd love to hear what's going on in your world. You can share a post you have already written or you can write one specifically. You can share a photo which just sums things up for you at the moment - perhaps you took one photo of your angelic looking little one just moments before a full on temper tantrum hit, or you just want to share a photo of your daily life without cropping or editing out the pile of laundry that's sitting in the corner. You could want to get on your soapbox and have a bit of a rant about how mummy groups make you feel back at school or the Government's plans for childcare support.

Trivial or a big issue, funny or serious, light-hearted or emotive, this Linky is whatever you need it to be. It's all about being real,whatever that means to you. Good or bad, join in and tell us your perfectly imperfect parenting adventures.

How to get involved:

• I will be sharing my first post on this subject on Monday and then going forward, this link up (which I have set up with InLinkz - crossed fingers!) will open on the first of each month for you to add your post links in as and when, and it will close at the end of the month. 
• Feel free to get involved as and when you want / can during the month and do share this with other perfectly imperfect parents too - the more, the merrier. 
• If you want to share more than one post each month then great, go ahead!
• And don't forget to read, comment and share as many posts as you like that other people have shared. 
• I will be reading all the posts that people add to the Linky and I'll also share them on Twitter too - just make sure you let me know when they've been added, by tweeting @tobecomemum.
• You can also use this hashtag - #perfectlyimperfectparent

Here's the Linky badge if you'd like to share it on your blog (it would be FAB if you do!):

 HTML code:

<center><a href="http://www.tobecomemum.co.uk/2015/01/my-new-linky-perfectly-imperfect-parent.html "_blank"><img src="http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af327/tobecomemum/TBMPerfectlyImperfectParent200x200_zps3b1a66a1.png"/></a><center>