There is very few things in life that are black and white to me. Lots of things with a grey area, parenting being one of those areas. Parenting is hard enough without being judged or told you're doing it wrong.
I was watching the show Wife Swap and it was KendraWilkinson and Kate Gosselin! It was actually fun to watch. To see Kendra try to let 8 kids eat tacos on the floor, what was she thinking? Why not a pizza party? Then to see Kate do nothing, you could tell it was driving her crazy.
For Kate, she has to have a schedule and the kids must do chores other wise she'd never sleep. With Kendra, she has a husband that is home a lot and one child, I wouldn't have a schedule either.
This got me thinking how different every family is. From religion, to chores, to routine or lack thereof, to schooling, even vaccinating. Then we throw in divorce and same sex parents and wow, we are all so different. So why the need to judge or think your way is the only way?
Can't we just support and love one another? I have never told another parent that they shouldn't vaccinate or that they should breastfeed exclusively or that they are crazy for home schooling. I have my choices and they have their's. It doesn't mean we aren't trying our best....maybe there are other things going on. A mom with cancer, just getting by and doing the bare minimum, a mom suffering with PPD and letting her house go but trying so hard to love her baby. What about moms like me that suffer from very minor ailments but have really bad days from time to time, feeding her kids cereal for dinner. We all have our own battles, some hard, some harder. Shouldn't this be reason alone to support each other instead of bash each other. What do we get out of making another parent feel guilty or bad for the choices they make when it comes to their children?
Yes, there are parents that shouldn't be, the child abusers, the molesters, the parents that neglect their kids. I'm not talking about those parents, they do deserve to be brought down, in my opinion, but by the law. No need to bash the moms that feed their kids, OMG, fast food more often then a home cooked meal because she works 50 hours a week to make sure her son can play sports.
It also goes the other way, bashing a mother because she shows up at a picnic with all organic, homemade food while you show up with Taco Bell. She's not hurting you any more than you are hurting her. What's the point of telling a mom she's putting her kids at risk for not vaccinating, trust me, she researched it and her kids are not a threat to you so what's the point?
Here are debates I would like to see dissolve into the air and to never be debated again...
Working mom vs. Stay at home mom
Breastmilk vs. Formula
Public/Private school vs. Home schooling
Preschool vs. Waiting until kindergarten for school
Vaccinating vs. Not vaccinating
Organic vs. non organic
Piercing a baby girl's ears vs. letting them decide
Crying it out vs. co-sleeping
Disposal diapers vs. cloth diapers
I am sure there are more but I rattled those off pretty quickly. I understand being passionate about things when it comes to parenting. I am passionate about certain things but that doesn't mean it's the only right way, it means that's how I am going to do it.
Let their choices be their choices, let their daughter yell at them for piercing her ears when she was a baby. Let their adult child yell at them because they have to get more vaccines to travel abroad than their vaccinated spouse.
It's not your business! Parent the way you feel is the right way and mind your business. Don't worry how other parents are doing it.
All you can do is focus on your family and hope your little psychos grow up to be happy, respectful adults. Focus your energy on them, love them, encourage them, enjoy them.
I was watching the show Wife Swap and it was KendraWilkinson and Kate Gosselin! It was actually fun to watch. To see Kendra try to let 8 kids eat tacos on the floor, what was she thinking? Why not a pizza party? Then to see Kate do nothing, you could tell it was driving her crazy.
For Kate, she has to have a schedule and the kids must do chores other wise she'd never sleep. With Kendra, she has a husband that is home a lot and one child, I wouldn't have a schedule either.
This got me thinking how different every family is. From religion, to chores, to routine or lack thereof, to schooling, even vaccinating. Then we throw in divorce and same sex parents and wow, we are all so different. So why the need to judge or think your way is the only way?
Can't we just support and love one another? I have never told another parent that they shouldn't vaccinate or that they should breastfeed exclusively or that they are crazy for home schooling. I have my choices and they have their's. It doesn't mean we aren't trying our best....maybe there are other things going on. A mom with cancer, just getting by and doing the bare minimum, a mom suffering with PPD and letting her house go but trying so hard to love her baby. What about moms like me that suffer from very minor ailments but have really bad days from time to time, feeding her kids cereal for dinner. We all have our own battles, some hard, some harder. Shouldn't this be reason alone to support each other instead of bash each other. What do we get out of making another parent feel guilty or bad for the choices they make when it comes to their children?
Yes, there are parents that shouldn't be, the child abusers, the molesters, the parents that neglect their kids. I'm not talking about those parents, they do deserve to be brought down, in my opinion, but by the law. No need to bash the moms that feed their kids, OMG, fast food more often then a home cooked meal because she works 50 hours a week to make sure her son can play sports.
It also goes the other way, bashing a mother because she shows up at a picnic with all organic, homemade food while you show up with Taco Bell. She's not hurting you any more than you are hurting her. What's the point of telling a mom she's putting her kids at risk for not vaccinating, trust me, she researched it and her kids are not a threat to you so what's the point?
Here are debates I would like to see dissolve into the air and to never be debated again...
Working mom vs. Stay at home mom
Breastmilk vs. Formula
Public/Private school vs. Home schooling
Preschool vs. Waiting until kindergarten for school
Vaccinating vs. Not vaccinating
Organic vs. non organic
Piercing a baby girl's ears vs. letting them decide
Crying it out vs. co-sleeping
Disposal diapers vs. cloth diapers
I am sure there are more but I rattled those off pretty quickly. I understand being passionate about things when it comes to parenting. I am passionate about certain things but that doesn't mean it's the only right way, it means that's how I am going to do it.
Let their choices be their choices, let their daughter yell at them for piercing her ears when she was a baby. Let their adult child yell at them because they have to get more vaccines to travel abroad than their vaccinated spouse.
It's not your business! Parent the way you feel is the right way and mind your business. Don't worry how other parents are doing it.
All you can do is focus on your family and hope your little psychos grow up to be happy, respectful adults. Focus your energy on them, love them, encourage them, enjoy them.
Comments