I keep having these moments where I feel like I'm messing everything up with my kids. Like I yelled at my son yesterday because he spilled juice and immediately felt awful. Now I'm spiraling thinking I'm damaging him somehow. I know logically that one incident doesn't make me a bad parent but my brain won't let it go. Anyone else deal with this? Started having panic attacks about it last week.
One bad moment doesn't define your parenting. I yelled at my kids yesterday and then we played soccer and laughed. Kids are resilient and they need to see their parents are human too. Be patient with yourself.
This hits home. I struggle with the same thing co-parenting across two houses. The guilt is real but your kids know you love them. Talk to a therapist if you can, it helped me work through these feelings a lot.
You're not alone in this. Every dad feels like they're messing up sometimes. The fact that you care this much means you're probably doing better than you think. Have you talked to anyone about the anxiety or is it just in your head?
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Those moments don't make you a bad dad, they make you human. I've yelled at my kids more times than I want to admit and then felt terrible after. What matters is that you recognize it and keep trying. That's what being a good parent actually looks like.