The best advice on mothering, just in time for Mother's Day

Sunday is Mother's Day, a day each year set aside to honour mothers and all they do.

CBC P.E.I. asked you to share the best advice you've received on mothering, or from your own mother. We asked on Facebook here, on CBC P.E.I.'s Facebook page and for Islanders to call in or email Island Morning.

Here's a sampling to enjoy, from laugh out loud to eye-wateringly tender.  

(Please note that usernames are not necessarily the names of commenters. Some comments have been altered to correct spelling and to conform to CBC style.)

Glen Pye called in to Island Morning to share that his mother's advice came from a book — a cookbook she gave him as he headed off to college, called The Bachelor's Guide to Warding Off Starvation. 

"That first year, that book was a Godsend!" Pye said. 

Hugh Paton emailed Island Morning to say his mother, like most raised in the Depression era, had some time-tested pieces of great advice.

"Some were about money, some about being a good person, but the one that stands the test of time the most, and which we hand down frequently to our kids, is 'Moderation, in all things.'

Great wisdom for the next generation growing up these days."

They grow up, so make sure you also have your own life.— Katherine O'Shea

Glenda Landry said it was her mother-in-law's advice that stuck with her most. 

"If given the opportunity, speak glowingly about your children if they are within earshot," Landry wrote on Facebook.

Ashe Green is a new mom and said her friend Aya Galloway gave her some great advice on mothering.

"[She] told me that no one truly knows what they're doing and we're all just figuring it out as we go. It gave me so much more confidence to just try things until I figure out what works." 

'Babies don't keep'

Charlotte Conrad said her beloved mother is gone now, but she phoned in to say she always recalls her mum repeating this short poem: "Beautiful hands are hands that do, work that is honest, good and true."

Jodi Lynn said the best advice she ever received on mothering also came in the form of a poem: 

"Cooking and cleaning can wait till tomorrow, For babies grow up, I've learned to my sorrow. 

So settle down cobwebs, and dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby 'cause babies don't keep."

Leigh Anne Praught said she learned the most from observing her mother.

"My mother never explicitly said this but she always had a social life outside her kids growing up. She showed me that you can be an amazing mom without sacrificing the other parts of yourself and I will be forever grateful for that," Praught shared on Facebook. 

"My mother told me to live my life and have fun before you have children," Patricia Tanner wrote on Facebook. 

"She starting having children at 19 and had 15 in the next 24 years, so she definitely knew what she was talking about." 

"They grow up, so make sure you also have your own life," said Katherine O'Shea.

Shelby Lee said the best advice she received on mothering was that being present in your children's lives will always be worth more than any toys or gadgets money can buy.

"Be engaged and eager to hear any little stories your kiddos want to tell you. If they know that as a small child they can trust you with their small stuff, they'll still come to you with the big important things when they're older," Lee comments on Facebook. 

Practical advice

The best parenting advice Rachael Cameron said she ever received is that when things are going south, add water! 

"Toss the kids in the tub, find a beach or a puddle, or throw a towel on the kitchen floor with a container of water and wash some toys. Somehow it always turns the day around!"

Along those lines, Marilyn MacLean said this is the advice she most wanted to impart to her own daughter: 

"Unless it is a danger to your child, allow them to try and figure physical and mental challenges by themselves before attempting to rescue them. It allows them to figure out obstacles on their own and builds their self confidence." 

Kristina Sweeting said she received the best advice about mothering from her own mother and her child's pediatrician: "Don't worry when your kid doesn't want to eat. They will eat when they are hungry."