Who better to give parenting advice than those who have already been there, done that and lived to tell about it? I wouldn’t be the mother I am without the wisdom and advice my own mother has imparted to me over the years. There is no such thing as a perfect mother, but anyone who has ever answered to the name Mommy has experience, and with experience comes knowledge.

When my children were younger my mother was a well of knowledge I could tap into whenever I needed, she still is. I haven’t always taken her advice, but I’ve always been grateful for it. Often, young mothers do not ask for and don’t want the advice their parents or grandparents have to offer and they struggle trying to figure it all out on their own.

The simple fact is, we can’t do it on our own. I respect everything my parents and my grandparents taught me. I will always welcome their voice, they’ve been in the parenting business much longer than I have.

My mom always says, “I know a few things.” It always makes me smile because now I know a few things too, much of it I learned from her. So many things change with the passage of time, I grew up in a very different world than my children awake to each day. The generation before us may not have experience in some of the issues we parents ace today, but they have wisdom that can bridge the gap and help us find the answers we seek.

My grandmother knows a few things too, sometimes though, her words of wisdom are on the wacky side. When my firstborn came along she shared a few tips with me. She told me never to turn him upside down while playing with him because it will cause his liver to flip and he could die. Later, she told me you can rid a baby of the hiccups by turning them upside down. She scolded me for tickling his feet because it would make him stutter, but became the footsie tickle monster within seconds of getting him in her grasp. She has taught me though, you do indeed survive parenting, and I am grateful to know it’s possible.

My children have become who they are, in part, because of the lessons I learned from parents who came before me. I’ve learned so much over the years, knowledge I hope my own children seek out when they to venture into the realm of parenthood themselves. Like I said, I know a few things now.

Some say it takes a village to raise a child . . . at the very least it takes a family.

I am a better mother than I would have been without them.

Crystal R.Cook