Parenting

If you are a parent you may notice that every single day there is a new report about how what we do every day has a lasting effect on our kids. Duh, of course these are important things but crap almighty I feel like I do absolutely nothing right & there is no chance for my sons who are destined to be fat, lazy, dumb and probably serial killers because of TV watching, not mastering the eating situation, sleeping too much/too little & whatever else the experts feel the need to study.

Today's article is about how parents let their kids stay in the prams/strollers too long, which makes the kids lazy. I get it, I do I do I do but my child is a runner so any errands turn into me chasing him, getting fed up & going home mumbling some choice words without having accomplished anything. But yes, I get it Ben needs to walk properly blah blah blah & I try to give him chances to get out & run when I have hands free to catch him & when it's not inconveniencing other shoppers (sidenote: if you're not a parent please realize how much your eye rolls or dirty looks actually hurt when we're doing our darn best with these children) & when I don't actually need to accomplish things. I always give him time at the toddler playground at the mall (bless you, Erina Mall for the awesome new one!) & love to let him explore at the library, etc.

Anyway, you can tell I get my panties in a twist because of the daily reminders that I'm not perfect. Some days I just laugh & let it go, then sometimes it gets to me. One thing I haaaate to do is read comments on any internet article because it's just an open forum for ass-hats to belch out their pissiness but today I glanced down & saw this comment. It actually brought a tear to my eye, which probably just proves how hormonal I am these days but good on you Mr. Man - keep up the love & be the good dad you know you actually are (well, smoking around your kid is evil but I think you know that) & I'll do the same over here:

We can't help ourselves can we? Any little thing, every god damn thing we do or don't do in life is bad, deadly, incorrect or hurting someone else.
You know what? I'm going downstairs, going to put my daughter on my knee, light up a cigarette, swill some whiskey and hug her and tell her that at least I LOVE HER. And you know what else? She will look at me with her big blue eyes and smile and give me big cuddle back and ask "Daddy, what's wrong?" and all I can say to her is "Darlin' where the hell do I start?"
Give it a rest.
Push that pram. Eat a burger or two. Smoke a packet of Marlboro, and have a whiskey shooter or two. And have no fear to tell any busy-body stickybeak who has the gall to bug you about it to mind their own f*%#ing business. I'm tellin ya, it feels GOOD.
You're only here once folks. And so are your kids. Stop kidding yourselves. Selah.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/blogs/chew-on-this/pushy-parents-unfit-kids-20110627-1gmtm.html#ixzz1QcMMJSsj