Hello again! Sorry it's been about a week since my last post. We've had a few stumbling blocks in life as we all do from time to time and it's made blogging extremely difficult. :(
Maybe I'll write about them someday, maybe I won't. But just know that myself, Lee and Dexter are all absolutely fine.
Anyhoo, I wanted to talk to you all about a video i watched the other day, which I'm almost certain a lot of you (if not all of you) will have seen. It's called 'The Mother 'Hood official video' and it was made by an American formula milk company called similac.
http://youtu.be/Me9yrREXOj4
(The link's there for you above incase you haven't laid your peepers on it yet!)
Basically, the video deals with many different methods of parenting and our attitudes as parents towards those who choose a different path to ourselves. You have groups such as stay at home dads, breast feeding moms, bottle feeding moms,working moms and same sex couples with children to name a few. What's sad is, none of these groups have anything positive and supportive to say to another group who are doing things differently to themselves. What's even sadder is that it's so true to life.
Us mothers, and sometimes fathers alike, can be such a load of judgy mcjudgersons, picking apart the parenting methods of anyone with children that we see. I'm ashamed to say, I have been one of those judgemental parents! You see, when I was pregnant, I thought I knew it all! I'd read baby books and my sister has three children so being an auntie has definitely helped prepare me for what to expect when my baby actually arrived. I was all 'breast is best' and the classic 'sleep when the baby sleeps'. Then the baby arrived...oh how my opinion's changed! As I have explained in a previous post, I wasn't producing enough milk to satisfy Dexter. I soon jumped at the chance to buy formula then! Also, this whole 'sleep when the baby sleeps' is actually a lot harder than it sounds. I mean, when exactly are you supposed to catch up on the washing/ have any form of life?
Being judgemental is actually a really awful thing for me to admit to, as I am always the one telling people 'different strokes for different folks' and, if you want me to go all religious on your ass 'judge not lest ye be judged'. I did find myself, however, looking a lot more at what other parents did. Thinking about it now, it was probably a way of people watching to gain parenting wisdom!
Now when I say I was judgemental when I was pregnant, it's a slight fib. I mean, we all have a little tut now and then at the occasional person, and anyone who says they don't is either a bloomin' saint or has a serious case of Pinocchio syndrome! I will always eye roll at people who yell at their kids. I've never agreed with it, nor will i ever agree with it. Yes, we all know kids can be challenging, but if you want your kids to respect you and do as you ask, show a little self control yourself and try speaking to them and not the entire queue at the checkout at the supermarket. Enough said about that one!
Smoking is also a bugbear of mine. Neither my partner or i are smokers, but what others do is up to them. It's when they're pushing their baby around while blowing smoke in their face that I don't agree with. Lee and i recently took Dexter for his first obligatory Ikea outing (exciting i know)! As we were leaving the store, a woman was pushing her little boy in a trolley who couldn't have been more than 3 years old. She smelt like and ashtray and all the time she was talking to him, she was smoking and breathing all of the fumes in his face. That little boy could not decide for himself wether he would breathe in smoke that day, or any day for that matter. That is exactly what i do not agree with.
Other things in my short list are; parents who put fizzy drinks in baby bottles, giving kids crisps and/or chocolate for breakfast and parents who only ever talk about their children in a negative light eg. 'He's a right pain in the arse' (yes, I have actually heard a woman describe her little boy with these words in front of him, talk about a confidence boost)!
Now you might wonder why I have listed pretty much all of the things which irritate me most about parenting? Well, all of the above things are negatives. Things which, to be honest, most good parents disagree with or cringe at. In the video I'm referring to, all of the subjects under scrutiny are parenting methods born out of love for their children and purely from wanting the very best for them!
The point I'm trying to make is, you might be obsessed with breast feeding, but next time you see a mummy whip a bottle of formula milk out of her bag in a restaurant, don't presume she can't be bothered to breast feed. Or when you see a stay at home mummy walking her toddler to play group while you're on your way to work, don't presume she does nothing all day and is lazy. Or when you see Daddy on his own out and about with his baby, don't presume that Mummy couldn't wait to go back to work and is the least maternal person in the world. The world is full of presumptions, but not many people actually take the time to get to know a persons story before they jump to a conclusion. What amazes me about the video is that, after all of the hen pecking about whose parenting method is best, they all come together to save the baby who is rolling down the hill in her pram. And that's the essence of it, one word, Love. It all comes from the overwhelming, powerful love we all feel for our children. And that's what it's all about.
The sooner we come together and support each other as parents, the better. We've all got such an important job to do, but we can do it. Together.
Until next time, love Laura Xxx
Anyhoo, I wanted to talk to you all about a video i watched the other day, which I'm almost certain a lot of you (if not all of you) will have seen. It's called 'The Mother 'Hood official video' and it was made by an American formula milk company called similac.
http://youtu.be/Me9yrREXOj4
(The link's there for you above incase you haven't laid your peepers on it yet!)
Basically, the video deals with many different methods of parenting and our attitudes as parents towards those who choose a different path to ourselves. You have groups such as stay at home dads, breast feeding moms, bottle feeding moms,working moms and same sex couples with children to name a few. What's sad is, none of these groups have anything positive and supportive to say to another group who are doing things differently to themselves. What's even sadder is that it's so true to life.
Us mothers, and sometimes fathers alike, can be such a load of judgy mcjudgersons, picking apart the parenting methods of anyone with children that we see. I'm ashamed to say, I have been one of those judgemental parents! You see, when I was pregnant, I thought I knew it all! I'd read baby books and my sister has three children so being an auntie has definitely helped prepare me for what to expect when my baby actually arrived. I was all 'breast is best' and the classic 'sleep when the baby sleeps'. Then the baby arrived...oh how my opinion's changed! As I have explained in a previous post, I wasn't producing enough milk to satisfy Dexter. I soon jumped at the chance to buy formula then! Also, this whole 'sleep when the baby sleeps' is actually a lot harder than it sounds. I mean, when exactly are you supposed to catch up on the washing/ have any form of life?
Being judgemental is actually a really awful thing for me to admit to, as I am always the one telling people 'different strokes for different folks' and, if you want me to go all religious on your ass 'judge not lest ye be judged'. I did find myself, however, looking a lot more at what other parents did. Thinking about it now, it was probably a way of people watching to gain parenting wisdom!
Now when I say I was judgemental when I was pregnant, it's a slight fib. I mean, we all have a little tut now and then at the occasional person, and anyone who says they don't is either a bloomin' saint or has a serious case of Pinocchio syndrome! I will always eye roll at people who yell at their kids. I've never agreed with it, nor will i ever agree with it. Yes, we all know kids can be challenging, but if you want your kids to respect you and do as you ask, show a little self control yourself and try speaking to them and not the entire queue at the checkout at the supermarket. Enough said about that one!
Smoking is also a bugbear of mine. Neither my partner or i are smokers, but what others do is up to them. It's when they're pushing their baby around while blowing smoke in their face that I don't agree with. Lee and i recently took Dexter for his first obligatory Ikea outing (exciting i know)! As we were leaving the store, a woman was pushing her little boy in a trolley who couldn't have been more than 3 years old. She smelt like and ashtray and all the time she was talking to him, she was smoking and breathing all of the fumes in his face. That little boy could not decide for himself wether he would breathe in smoke that day, or any day for that matter. That is exactly what i do not agree with.
Other things in my short list are; parents who put fizzy drinks in baby bottles, giving kids crisps and/or chocolate for breakfast and parents who only ever talk about their children in a negative light eg. 'He's a right pain in the arse' (yes, I have actually heard a woman describe her little boy with these words in front of him, talk about a confidence boost)!
Now you might wonder why I have listed pretty much all of the things which irritate me most about parenting? Well, all of the above things are negatives. Things which, to be honest, most good parents disagree with or cringe at. In the video I'm referring to, all of the subjects under scrutiny are parenting methods born out of love for their children and purely from wanting the very best for them!
The point I'm trying to make is, you might be obsessed with breast feeding, but next time you see a mummy whip a bottle of formula milk out of her bag in a restaurant, don't presume she can't be bothered to breast feed. Or when you see a stay at home mummy walking her toddler to play group while you're on your way to work, don't presume she does nothing all day and is lazy. Or when you see Daddy on his own out and about with his baby, don't presume that Mummy couldn't wait to go back to work and is the least maternal person in the world. The world is full of presumptions, but not many people actually take the time to get to know a persons story before they jump to a conclusion. What amazes me about the video is that, after all of the hen pecking about whose parenting method is best, they all come together to save the baby who is rolling down the hill in her pram. And that's the essence of it, one word, Love. It all comes from the overwhelming, powerful love we all feel for our children. And that's what it's all about.
The sooner we come together and support each other as parents, the better. We've all got such an important job to do, but we can do it. Together.
Until next time, love Laura Xxx
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