This goes from birthing the child, feeding choices for a newborn, sleeping choices for a newborn, discipline, feeding choices for a toddler, and I'm sure the list will continue to grow as my children age. For an example; there are home births, hospital births, birthing centers...epidural vs. natural...co-sleeping vs. sleeping in a crib...breastfeeding vs. formula fed...scheduled feeding vs. feeding on demand...cloth diapering vs. disposables...vaccinations vs. no vaccinations - and this is just for newborns! Not to mention as the child ages all the different types of discipline that you can choose (or not choose) as well as different types of play and learning activities, oh...and the food choices that are out there once a child is eating solid foods as well as when to start a baby on solids. I could go on.
It's easy for a new and young mom to get confused when there are so many different opinions and options out there. Most people are passionate about what they choose to do for their children and therefore will share that information with their friends. Often times, this can be misinterpreted that they know what's best and anything else just doesn't measure up.
Guess what? I have a Bachelor's Degree in Family Science and I don't have a clue as to what the best practice is in raising a child. I have my opinions and I know what "experts" say best practice is. But maybe, just maybe there is more than one way to raise a child correctly.
I know parents are on a journey to raise responsible and healthy members of society and the stakes are high. What if I told you that you can't completely control the outcome of the choices your child makes later on in life? A child that was brought up with adverse situations may choose to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and become a doctor. A child who was brought up in a loving home may choose to be a drug addict. We aren't raising puppets but children who will someday make choices for themselves. I understand that our responsibility is a great one. However, for parents who love their children and want the best for them, I don't believe that choosing one way to parent over another will detrimentally effect the outcome. There are obvious exceptions to this but those are the cases for Child Protective Services due to abuse and neglect.
I will choose to support parents in whatever way they feel is best in raising their child. I won't judge my friends in the way they choose to parent. One way I choose to do this is by not posting articles on Facebook that go directly against what my friends may believe. I believe a passive aggressive way of sharing your opinions with others is by sharing articles that support your way of thinking. With all the information out there on the internet (most which are not accurate by the way), an article can surely be found that goes against the article that was shared. Get where I'm going with this? It could become a battle of opinion rather than anything else. I'd rather support mothers on this tough journey verses trying to get my opinion across. Besides, how many of us change our opinion based on an article someone posts on Facebook? I'm more likely going to change my opinion when I am actively seeking information and doing research on my own.
Let's love one another and support each other in this tough but rewarding job. #endthemommywars
