“My worst parenting moments, the ones I am least proud of, happened because I was trying to impress a bunch of strangers I’ll probably never see again.” Janel Mills, blogger

It’s not easy being a parent, everyone knows this.

The pressure to be perfect can be intense.

You live with an insane amount of guilt, no matter what you do. You work long hours and earn a lot of money and you feel guilty because you spend more time with your colleagues than you do with your kids. And you look at a stay-at-home parent and you feel jealous.

Or, you stay at home full-time and look after your children and you feel guilty because you’re having to scrimp and save, you have to do the dishes or clean the house and end up letting the TV baby sit them at times. And you look at a working parent and feel jealous.

Regardless of where you stand or what you do, someone is always there telling you that you’re not doing it right. Very seldom do we have someone approach us to praise us.

You breastfeed? Someone comes and tells you to cover up. You formula feed? Someone approaches and extolls the benefits of breastmilk.

You’re a high-powered professional and hardly ever home? You get told off for not spending much time with your family. You stay at home full-time? Well, obviously you’re just plain lazy and living a life of leisure.

Modern parents seem to have lost our tribes – people who support us in this most important chapters in our lives – and this section is all about bringing it back. So take a deep breath and relax – no one really knows what they’re doing. Remember what Mayim Bialik said about parenting? “I came to parenting the way most of us do – knowing nothing and trying to learn everything.”

We’re all just trying to learn here but perhaps together, we can help each other learn what we all need to know and be the best parents we can be for the families we have.