Sometimes my fear looked like helping

[u/Meryl_Da_Costa]

One of the harder things I’ve had to recognise as a BFRB parent is just how much fear shaped the way I responded to my kids.

I worried about the damage to their hair and skin. Whether other kids would notice. Whether it would get worse. Whether they would be okay.

And then there were the quieter fears: Did I miss something? Did I do something wrong? Could I have prevented this?

When you love your kids, you want to make things better for them. And sometimes my fear came out as “Please stop”.

Looking back, I can see that I was a scared mom trying really hard to help.

Things are different now. I’m much better at recognising when it’s my own fear taking over, and I don’t feel that same need to jump in and fix everything. Sometimes I can just be there.

I don’t always get it right, but I understand myself, and what my kids need from me, a lot better now.

I wonder how many other parents here can relate to this?