Moms Share Their Biggest Parenting Mistakes So You Can Avoid Them — And Fellow Parents Label Their Honesty As ‘Refreshing’

Four moms have shared their biggest parenting mistakes so others can avoid them.

The four US-based women, known as @4friendsover40, took it up TikTok to explain their biggest regrets they made as mothers.

Jenn, 57, Sarah, 48, Erin, 48, Terryl, 50, all had one problem that appealed to them the most.

The “refreshing” video addressed a range of issues from being impatient to doing too much to help your kids.

Social media users were quick to praise the women for their “honesty” and thanked them for being “so vulnerable and open.”

The mothers explained that they wanted to share their mistakes so that others can “learn a little from us.”

First up was Erin, who called her problem a “doozy.” Her advice was to ‘make sure you don’t do too much for your children’.

She explained, “Because I was a kid and had a hard-working mother, I think I always did everything myself.

“I was fairly self-sufficient. I could cook something; I could figure things out.’

But Erin explained that since she was able to work from home when her kids were small, she took a different approach.

She said, “I’ve actually always done almost everything for them, which is why I think maybe they’re not very self-sufficient. I think I probably did too much, like cooking or doing laundry.

My mom would say, “Bring some taco meat before I get home.” I think if I told my son to brown some taco meat, he’d be like, ‘What are you doing?’

Terryl then explained her advice, which is to try to be patient when your children are younger.

The ‘refreshing’ video addressed a range of issues from being impatient to doing too much to help your kids

She explained that she felt like she lost her temper a little too often when her kids were young.

Terryl recalled a memory of her daughter longing for school photos in first grade, but she just lost all patience and told her to get in the car.

But now she believes acting like this makes everything “worse” and “causes everyone a lot of stress and frustration.”

Sarah wanted to offer some advice for parents who have more ‘reserved’ and ‘anxious’ children.

She explained that her eldest child is shy and she would often step in during conversations to speak for her.

Now Sarah realized it served neither of them, so her advice was to let shy kids speak for themselves.

Finally, Jenn shared her advice, which is not to stretch rituals too long with your kids because of your own emotions.

Social media users were quick to share their thoughts on the video, with many calling it an inspiration

She explained that she was determined to make the most of her time with her daughter, knowing that she would not have any more children.

Every night she read a book to her daughter and lay in bed next to her, but her daughter now depends on her to fall asleep.

Jenn indicated that this formed an emotional connection at first, but now that a ritual has been created, she can’t help it at 9 o’clock.

The moms further explained their intentions for the video in the caption, “We made mistakes and got some things right! We will share! #parentingerrors #motheradvice #adviceforgirls #adviceformoms #4friendsover40 #forallgirls #forour daughters #genxmoms

Social media users were quick to share their thoughts on the video, with many finding it “inspirational.”

One said, ‘Love this group!! Thank you for your honesty, it’s so refreshing!’

A second person added, “You guys are great for doing this. Not only is it great advice, but it’s also inspiring to me to see mothers being able to own their mess.”

A third added: ‘Love you sharing these things. most women worry so much about making mistakes.”

Another person wrote, “I really appreciate this, mothers taking responsibility for their behavior. It’s so easy to see adults taking responsibility with more empathy.”

A fifth said, ‘Wow, I absolutely love this! Thank you for being so vulnerable and open.’