The Survival Floor

Some days you have nothing left. On those days, drop to the floor — not your best, just the bare minimum:

• Food in them (cereal counts)
• A roof and basic safety
• One "I love you"
• One bit of eye contact
• A goodnight, however small

That is enough. A single survival-mode day will not harm your child. What actually harms kids is a parent who demands so much of themselves that they crack. Hand yourself the grace you give them: a child's bad day never makes them a bad kid, so your bad day never makes you a bad parent.