The Good Enough Parent

Parents do not have to be perfect; they just need to be "good enough." Sometimes things happen that distract parents' attention (e.g., an emergency arises, the parent is sick, etc.) and they cannot respond as quickly as they would like or they react atypically (e.g., raised voice, harsh tone, but not abusive, etc.) to their children. As long as parents interact with their children in nurturing and attentive ways more often than not, the children should be fine. It is the consistency of the positive reactions and the ability to repair after negative interactions that count.