Just the other day I was in a conversation with some moms whose kids (like mine) are nearly grown. Someone asked, “what three things do you wish you had known when your kids were little?”

After thinking about the experiences we’ve had with raising kids over the past 20 years or so, here are my thoughts:

1. Experts don’t know everything. You’ll read the books and articles, meet with the pediatrician and teachers, and see stuff on the internet. Lin fact, lots of the advice and information you’ll find there is good. But none of those folks know your child like you do. So, read it all, listen to it all and then trust your knowledge of your own child to make a decision. Chances are really good that you will get it right.

2. Everybody has bad days. You know the kind of days I mean –those days where everything goes wrong, everyone’s cranky, and nothing gets done the way it should (or doesn’t get done at all). The days that make you wish that just staying in bed had been an option. We’ve all had them, despite the evidence on Facebook and Pinterest that everyone else’s house and kids and pets are perfect all the time! (Wouldn’t it be fun if we all spent a day posting the pictures of the things that went wrong? You know – the burned dinners, the craft disasters (not to mention what the kitchen looks like after either of those things), the children throwing a fit about something, the two million photos you took to get the one perfect one for grandma…) It’s okay – take a breath or a walk, cancel your plans for everything, snuggle in with the kids and watch a movie. Tomorrow will be better. (And none of the pics are on social media, anyway…)

3. Laugh more! Hang out. Have fun. Find things you all love to do and do them together. Laugh at silly jokes – and make up your own. I guarantee that the laughter and silliness is what your kids will remember – and you will too….

So go on --- make it a silly, laughter-filled day!