Hey what about the relationship Hera has with her kids
hera loves her Kids. ok?? she adores them so much and anyone who suggests otherwise can get BENT. hera is a very loving mother, but she tends to be a bit of a tough love kind of mom too. she pushes her kids hard to be the best versions of themselves, and isn't afraid to call them out. that being said, she'll always be gentle with them when they need it.
i'll go in what i imagine their birth order to be.
hephaestus is her first born, and also the one with whom her relationship is rockiest. they have a very rough history to contend with - one that i've always attributed to post-partum depression as opposed to vanity or outright cruelty. the guilt that hera has felt her entire life because of that is so strong and i doubt it will ever go away. after his return to olympus and the subsequent falling out, they did reconcile. hera has done absolutely everything she can to make up for the past and has doted on hephaestus thoroughly, but she does not want to overstep. in her mind, she lost that right. she gives him as much affection as he is willing to accept, and their relationship is.. steady.
ares & eris are her beloved little war babies, but with whom her relationships are very different. ares is a momma's boy and she definitely leans into that heavily. hera goes a touch too boy mom with him, but it works well with ares because she's the only one who cherishes him, really, and they are incredibly close. eris is much more of a spitfire than her twin brother and she butts heads with her mom a lot. it doesn't make hera love her less, but it does make it harder for them to connect. they argue. eris blows up and hera gets catty and they don't talk for ages. then they reconcile and are cuddling on the couch, you know? it's complicated.
eileithyia spends the most time with hera, i think. their domains overlap a lot, so hera gets to impart a lot of wisdom and also learn a lot from her daughter. they probably have the most "normal" mother/daughter relationship of the bunch. hera loves her so much, and they're quite like-minded, so they don't argue often. hera loves to check up on her work when she can.
hebe is slightly complicated, too. she's a very easygoing person to get along with, mood swings aside, and she is mom's little angel most of the time. but hebe holds a touch of resentment towards her mother and father for her marriage to heracles (in my interpretation), so hera has to be careful what she says to hebe about the subject. they're much better in present day, but there was some tension for a while. still, hera is doting and loving.
honorable mentions: athena, hermes, and persephone - she loves most of her step kids too, but these three in particular. as far as she's concerned, athena is her kid, and hermes is a close contender as well. she doesn't get quite as involved with them, but she will act very motherly when they're around.
she does have other children, but the myths are so scarce and i haven't written with any interpretations of them, so i've left them out for now. but just know she loves her other babies VERY much.


















