Slacker Mom
I am a slacker mom. I'll be the first to admit it. I am proud of it. I think there is nothing wrong with giving a child a bit of freedom to determine what happens in this world. Everything's a learning experience. My job in life is to make my child independent.
I read Confessions of a Slacker Mom http://tinyurl.com/2bw3l7 and loved it! I got it from the library, so if you're a cheapo like me, check there first. The author says that her children are well-loved and important to the family, but the parents are not there to cater to the children's every whim. I love that. My 22-month-old knows to get her own cup of juice off the kitchen counter where she left it, and to put it in the sink when she's through drinking it. I am not here to serve her, and she is happy to do things by herself.
I do not have safety mechansisms all over my house like a giant daycare center. Our fireplace corners are unprotected. We have no safety faucet hot water thingy in the bathtub. I decided before she was even born that I wanted to houseproof my baby, not babyproof my house. I always wonder, in those uber-protected houses, what happens when the kid goes somewhere else? Do they scald themselves on hot water? Are they drawn to every unprotected outlet in the house? When does the learning process take place, if they've never had to deal with it?
I get kid catalogs with oodles and gobs of "necessary" equipment for protecting a child against himself. I often wonder who buys all this stuff. If we could all live in a rubber room, I guess we'd be safe.
The moms (and it's usually the moms, not the dads) that think they invented parenting just make me roll my eyes. We all grew up with a miniscule amount of safety features availble, and yet we're still alive and kicking. None of this is directed at anyone I know personally. It's just that reading parenting articles from different viewpoints sometimes lays a guilt trip on just about everyone that doesn't subscribe to the author's doctrine. I think all moms should realize that everyone is doing the best they can, and what works for one family, may not work for another.
Slacker Moms: unite!!
(Oh, and there's a Confessions of a Slacker Wife too that is just as good.)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
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2 comments:
I'm so glad you wrote a post about this. I remembered you told me about a really good book coming out, but of course I couldn't remember it! I'll add that to my summer I wish I could be reading list.
As far as kid proofing goes, I think it very much depends on the kids. That's true in every area of parenting!! I'm thankful my kids are so laid back. Our neighbor is a sweet little innocent looking girl who waited til her dad went for some potty time, she climbed up onto the counter and got the scissors out of the top of the cabinet and cut her hair! And, you can think you have a CPS model home and freak accidents still happen. Or they'll happen at someone else's house, you're right!
Life would be great if people would follow this! "that everyone is doing the best they can, and what works for one family, may not work for another."
People think I'm crazy already for some of the choices we've made with regard to parenting Nyssa, and she's only 4 months old. Tuff stuff, she's our daughter.
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