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Q: Most of the time I love being a mom. But sometimes I get discouraged in the middle of all the mess and wonder if anything I do now will really matter when my little ones are all grown up. I need some encouragement!

Jim: I'd like to share a story that might help illustrate something important.

There's an ancient tale about an army who found themselves in the middle of the desert with no water. They were promised divine intervention, but in order receive it their faith had to be tested. They were told the water would come -- IF they first dug ditches to hold it all. (Spoiler: They did, and it did). There's no denying that believing you'll see rain when you're baking in the sun under a cloudless sky can be tough; sometimes you just have to keep preparing the ground.

Perhaps you can relate. After all, mothers of young children face the same sort of challenge. Raising kids to have good character is a lot of work, and the payoff isn't always immediately obvious. Moms pour their energy into feeding and bath times, dealing with never-ending piles of laundry and breaking up sibling squabbles. At the end of the day, many mothers wonder if they've made a difference in their kids' lives at all.

But I hope you'll take heart. The investment of time and energy you're putting into your children WILL pay off in time. You're showing your kids they're loved and cared for -- and day by day you're giving them the tools they'll need to thrive.

So, hang in there. The rains of maturity and character will come. For now, you're digging the ditches those precious children will need to hold it all. To mothers everywhere: THANK YOU.

For more encouragement and parenting tips, see FocusOnTheFamily.com.

Q: I heard something about a mother's voice impacting children's brains and regulating their nervous systems. Can you tell me more?

Dr. Danny Huerta, Vice President, Parenting & Youth: Yes, that is correct! According to research, a mom's calm voice (or her singing) can help her children have lower levels of stress hormones, more regulated emotions, less anxiety and better brain development. A mom's voice has a direct impact on important areas of her child's brain, including the amygdala (which helps regulate emotions), the auditory cortex, the mesolimbic reward pathway and the medial prefrontal cortex (those last two regions are involved in motivation).

As a mother, you have an incredible superpower: your voice. Every day you get to fine-tune it and use it to love and guide your kids. The challenge, of course, is maintaining a calm and regulated voice. Stress and demands can strain your emotional world very quickly, completely throwing your best intentions off course. If you're under a lot of pressure, your voice and tone can become strained and tense. When that happens, you can press "reset" emotionally and mentally to get yourself regulated again. Get some rest, take a walk, talk to a friend, drink a glass of water or get some exercise -- the list goes on and on. You know best what your own "resets" are to get your voice back into this superpower mode.

The bottom line is that the power of your regulated voice helps your kids have lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels and higher oxytocin (bonding hormone) levels -- regardless of their age. Even just a quick phone call to hear your encouraging, reassuring and calming voice can do wonders. As you celebrate Mother's Day, enjoy watching the impact your calm superpower voice can have on your children.

For more tips, see FocusOnTheFamily.com/parenting.

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Jim Daly is a husband and father, an author, and president of Focus on the Family and host of the Focus on the Family radio program. Catch up with him at jimdalyblog.focusonthefamily.com or at Facebook.com/JimDalyFocus.

Copyright 2025 Focus On The Family. (This feature may not by reproduced or distributed electronically, in print or otherwise without written permission of Focus on the Family.)

COPYRIGHT 2025 Andrews McMeel Syndication. This feature may not be reproduced or distributed electronically, in print or otherwise without the written permission of Andrews McMeel Syndication.