Indeed parenting is a twenty four hour, can't get a break, job. Our teens are watching Our every move. Not only that, they are passing judgmemnt on everythng that we do. What we say, as far as possible, should match what we do.
We are not perfect, we will not be perfect, but we so often set ourselves up as if we are perfect. In our teen's eyes this makes us big hypocrites.

We want to set a good example, but we are merely sinful mortals. How can we, who are imperfect, present perfection to our children? We can't. Since we can't, we may as well quit trying to present perfection, and present the best us possible.

If we set ourselves up as prefect, we set ourselves up for failurre. Here are a few ways that we can be balanced adults. That is, we make mistakes, but our children remain committed to becoming the best they can become.

1. Admit up front that we are not perfect. The power of the truth is astonishing. If we admit that we are struggling with some bad habit, it will give our teens the courage to look at themselves realistically.

2. Take visible steps to do better. This shows growth. Teens ought to know that it's not okay to admit to faults, and wallow in them freely.

3. Be realistic with our expectations. If our expectations for ourselves is unrealistic, more than likely the expectations we have for our teens will be unrealistic.

4. Forgive ourselves. We must learn to forgive ourselves. We must learn to forgive our teens.

5.Laugh, laugh, laugh. Everything isn't serious. We get one life, we must enjooy this life. It seems to me, that life is a string of mistakes, with every now and then we get it right. How we handle our mistakes, teaches our teens how to handle them. A little humor goes a long way.

These are only a few ways we can present a balanced approach to imperfection. We can't ignore our imperfections and hope our teens don't see them. They see the imperfections. They can even see ones we don't know about. Let's enjoy our teens. Let's enjoy our life.