Category Archives: Good Enough Parenting

Why ‘good enough’ parenting is good enough during the lockdown

Posted on

Published: RTE Brainstorm
Author: Dr. Malie Coyne

Opinion: calm acceptance of 'good enough' as opposed to perfection can increase parenting confidence and reduce fears

Have you had enough of articles with suggestions on "how best to parent during the coronavirus crisis"? Me too. Although well intentioned and often providing sound guidance, I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information coming in through my inbox over the past weeks. It's as if I'm drowning in a sea of advice. As if it wasn't enough to be holding onto worries about our families, health, livelihoods and the state of the world, without our usual supports, over-exposure to advice can reduce our confidence and increase our fear.

Still crazy… Why we are still waging the parenting wars (and who’s winning)

Posted on

Published: Irish Independent
Expert Opinion: Malie Coyne

"I think people are very black and white. And very invested. I think that's a very human thing. When you're getting married, everybody is invested in telling you where to get your dress, how to do your hair. It's the same - people are judgmental about child-rearing. I found when I was in hospital after my first child, it seemed every nurse had a different take and a strong opinion on what I should do in terms of breastfeeding, sleep and so on. As a new parent, you're desperately looking for advice all around you, and you're vulnerable to that advice because you don't know what you're doing."

Elaine Show – Good Enough Parenting

Posted on

Day 16 of #31daysofparentalselfcare ~ On the Elaine show talking about the 3 pillars of 'good enough parenting', including learning how to trust your gut instinct, the fallacy of perfection and the importance of reflecting on yourself as a parent, including how you were parented. A real example also features, where mammy Mal kinda flipped her lid (rupture) but then took the opportunity to make amends (repair), which is where the beauty of parenting shines through in the gorgeous hug after the blip

Why you shouldn’t try to be the ‘perfect parent’ – you are already good enough

Posted on

Published: Irish Independent
Author: Malie Coyne

If your children had one wish for you this coming year, it would be your acceptance that being a ‘good enough’ parent to them is just that… enough. But what does ‘good enough’ parenting mean in reality and how is it better than striving to be the best?

In his book A Good Enough Parent (1987), Bruno Bettelheim stated that ‘Perfection is not within the grasp of ordinary human beings’. And yet somehow in the age we live in, where we seem to hold high expectations for everything we do, including our parenting, many parents feel that there must be a ‘right’ way to parent and (surprise, surprise), most of us are falling short.

In an effort to relieve parents of the pressure many feel to meet their children’s every need and quash a few parenting myths, here are my three pillars of ‘good enough’ parenting: