My post today is in response to THIS blog post.
Here is the top 10:
Here are what Lifescript calls the “10 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make”
1. Sharing a bed with baby.
2. Putting your child to bed with milk or juice.
3. Buying second-hand toys or baby furniture.
4. Showing your child “smart baby” DVDs.
5. Putting kids in the basket of a shopping cart.
6. Sharing utensils with your child.
7. Delaying or avoiding vaccines.
8. Leaving your child alone in the car “just for a minute.”
9. Skipping helmets on tricycle rides.
10. Leaving your child alone in the bath or shower.
Before I delve into what I actually think about this top 10 (because it is relatively interesting to rant about it), I have to comment about the original blog post.
What a big shock that this blogger’s opinion is that of a babywearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, co-sleeping (I could go on…) mother.
I say that because it is exactly this type of mom who ALWAYS has an opinion about how to raise children and has zero interest in listening to any other opinion. Well FINE. Good for you for breastfeeding your kid until they turned 10. YOUR CHOICE. If that is what you feel is the right thing to do well, great. Here’s the deal. Whether you agree or disagree with this top 10, whether you fed your baby breast milk or oreos for supper, every parent has to do what works for them. What is right for them. For their situation. Who are we to pass judgment on someone else’s opinions or choices? If you go to the Lifescript site and read the top 10, you’ll see that they do provide a backup explanation for why they have chosen these particular mistakes.
So, with that said… Am I a bad parent based on this? This is based on MY parenting. Not anyone else.
1. Sharing a bed with baby.
NEVER have done it. NEVER will. That bed is me and my husband’s sanctuary.
2. Putting your child to bed with milk or juice.
NEVER have done it. NEVER will. Nuff said.
3. Buying second-hand toys or baby furniture.
Haven’t, but not to say that I won’t ever do it. Really depends on who it is coming from.
4. Showing your child “smart baby” DVDs.
Okay, this one annoys me. I didn’t show him these videos because I thought he would become fucking Einstein, but I did show him them because he was interested in them and they made him laugh. We learned new words from them as well as how to play different activities- it was totally interactive. I didn’t sit him in his Bumbo chair in front of the TV and said “learn”. I was right there with him the whole time.
5. Putting kids in the basket of a shopping cart.
My kid effing hates the shopping cart. Passionately. So yeah, we let him ride in that thing wherever he goddamn feels like it. Shopping with a toddler sucks as it is. You gotta do what you gotta do (just don’t leave them unattended. Ever.)
6. Sharing utensils with your child.
I have no words for this one other than that it is possibly the most ridiculous on the list. My kid gets more germs at daycare than he could ever get from me eating off his spoon or his Nuk falling on the floor.
7. Delaying or avoiding vaccines.
I will agree with this one 110%. You all know how I feel about vaccines and I am a huge advocate for them.
8. Leaving your child alone in the car “just for a minute.”
Never have, Never will. Filling the car with gas and pay at the pump is the longest he is ever “alone” and he’s not really alone because I’m RIGHT THERE watching him.
9. Skipping helmets on tricycle rides.
He’s not really old enough for a tricycle; however, if you think I’m going to make him wear a helmet to ride around on his little ride on car. You’re nuts. I can’t even get him to wear a winter hat when it is 30 degrees below zero before his houdini hands has wrangled the thing off his head and throws it in a pile on the floor next to his gloves.
10. Leaving your child alone in the bath or shower.
NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!! There is no excuse for doing such a thing. Period.
Again. If you have done some of these, to each their own. I get it. I really do. You have to make the best decision that works for you REGARDLESS of what anyone else tells you to do.