Every mother worries about failing her kids. We wonder what we will do if our kids turn against us, grow up to hate us or end up disliking their lives. These are natural worries but unfortunately these fears can drive us crazy. Many of us read parenting books on how to raise happy, well adjusted children who love God and then when those same kids become teenagers we fizzle. We get tired and the bigger fears surface because the teen years are upon us and now we believe that the inevitable will happen: our kids will turn to monsters.

So I have a suggestion. Why don’t we forget the small parenting details like saying the right thing at the right time, buying the perfect prom dress or making sure that our son gets the right football coach and start focusing on getting the big things right. I believe that when we do this, life gets a whole lot better for moms and their kids. After all, that’s all God expects us to do anyway. Here’s where we can start.

Be Kind. On any given day with a toddler and a grade school child, being nice can be tough. We’re tired. We’ve…