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Parenting is underfire

I’m not going to lie; I’ve rolled my eyes more than once at a parent’s parenting style – admittedly it’s usually directed to those parents who keep their kids on a leash or make them wear a helmet when they are learning to crawl. There is no doubt that those parents do take a lot of flack for their choices, just as I have for mine, even from my own family, which can hit you the hardest.

Frustrated with the Criticism

Coping with criticism is never the easiest of things, especially when it comes to parenting. We often make choices that we feel are best for us at the time, and often doubt ourselves for those choices. Having someone – ANYone – then critique that choice only makes us all the more less assured and frustrated, which then undoubtedly has an adverse on our children and everyone around us.

But that’s just the thing: we make the choices that are best for us and our families, a situation which no one but our specific family, or ourselves, knows about. I mean, here I am pushing my sleeping 1 year old in a stroller through a mall, turning my nose up at the mother who has her 18 month old on a leash and is also chasing after a 3 year old, a 4 year old, and trying to control the tears of her 9 year old daughter who really wanted that shirt she saw in the window. Seems a bit short-sighted on my part, now that I think about it.

So before we jump to judge and spout something that we learned in one of our beloved parenting bibles – err, books - remember that your life is far different than any other parents’ (including your partner) so the choices made will also be different. Being a parent is hard enough; it is imperative that we support one another. Respect those choices that are made by someone other than you (unless they are abusive in any way to the child) and carry on with grace

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