I thought perhaps it was time to tell you that I really don’t care about the way you parent your kids.
So why now?
Well, for starters, I felt it was time to break my silence on the on-going Mommy Wars.
I certainly don’t want my silence on certain hot-button topics to make me appear neutral. I wouldn’t want to be known as the Switzerland of Mom Bloggers because I do, in fact, have opinions!
I’ve even drawn lines in the sand!
If you can believe it, I’ve chosen many, many sides (and yes, I would like fries with that)!
But that’s just it – there are so many sides to choose, and choose you must! There’s no more middle ground to tread, and with every issue being so polarized, if you’re not with one side, well then, that means you’re against it.
But that’s just it – and pay attention here – you can be for one thing without being against the other.
Also, I’ve yet to perfect my own parenting skills, and until then I won’t be criticizing the choices that other people make in the best interest of their own families. In other words, I’ve got my own shit to sort out, and I’m no where close to doing it; so I’m just going to shut up and mind my own business.
For example – here are 5 Things You May Do as a Parent that I Don’t Care About:
1. Breast Feeding vs. Bottle Feeding – I don’t care if you breast feed. I also don’t care if you use formula. I don’t care if you can nurse, but choose not to, nor do I care how long you choose to nurse your children. What you choose to do with your leaky boobs is your business – not mine nor that of anyone else.
2. Working vs. Staying at Home – I hope you don’t think less of me because I really don’t care if you have a job that takes you out of the house all day, if you work from within your home, or you have no (paying) job and you stay at home all day, every day. Furthermore, should you decide to work even though financially you don’t need to do so, or should you choose to give up a successful career in order to rear your young, I don’t care. I’m going to leave the financial matters of your family, and all the complexities that go along with that, to you.
3. Organic vs. Everything Else – Have you decided to forgo anything that’s not organic? Are you someone who doesn’t care about what’s in the food, only how it tastes and if anyone in your house will actually eat it? Are you into raw food? Only cook from a box? Yeah, bon appetit either way!
4. Helicopter vs. Free Range Parenting (and all other parental ‘styles’ too) – It took me a really long time to come up with a name for my own parenting style, but if I had to call it anything I guess I’d call it “Whatever-seems-to-be-working-in-this-freaking-moment-to-keep-all-of-my-offspring-and myself-from-crying-whining-yelling-or-doing-anything-that-may-make-me-look-like-a-crappy-parent.” It may then go without saying, but that leaves very little time for me to go all Jane Goodall and observe your interaction with children while in your natural habitat, pinpoint and subsequently judge your parenting style. Carry on.
5. Miscellaneous – This list could go on forever, so please note that I do not care about many decisions that other parents make including but not limited to: how much screen time you allow your kids to have, if you make them wear a helmet while riding a bike/scooter/walking up the steps, what movies you let them watch, if you curse in front of them, how many sports they play, if they’re allowed to drink soda or eat candy, how many extracurricular activities they are involved in, how many toys they have, when they got their first video game/phone/tablet/computer, if they now or ever have coslept, if you use fabric softener, etc., etc., etc.
Truth be told, I started writing this post after several requests over the last few months to “voice my opinion on the big issues that Moms face today!” which included some of the above topics. Now, as much as I love seeing my name in print or my face on the TV, I just don’t feel right about it. Instead of my opinion being used to help another mother, most pieces of this nature end up being judgmental. Plus, I’ve been on both sides of many of these “issues.”
I truly believe that an opinion contrary to the one you have doesn’t always make it wrong; it’s quite possible that it’s just different (unless it’s my husband, in which case, I’m obviously always correct).
Anyway, as Mother’s Day approaches, let’s agree to be less bitchy involved with how other mothers make decisions for their families, being aware that just because something may have worked best for you and your family doesn’t mean that it will be right for everyone else.
Mmmkay?
And if another mom asks you for advice or how you did things, share you experience!
(But if she chooses another way, shut your yap and let her be!)
(Feel free, media outlets, to quote me on that!)
And should you find that you are the first person in history to have the perfect children and the perfect family unit, be sure to leave a comment here with where we can buy your world famous, best-selling book. I’m sure we’ll all love to read it!
But if you’re ready to stop the Mommy Wars, because you frankly don’t believe they really exist, feel free to leave a comment below! We’ll call it a Peace/Give Me a Break Treaty!
p.s. If you have a shit-stirring, nasty, or judgmental comment about any of the aforementioned items, feel free to voice your opinion on your own blog, website, social channels, etc. I’ll probably just delete it here because I don’t care. xoxo
Comments
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015