A Good Parent

I opened my email yesterday to find one titled, "Are You A Good Parent." I felt the inside of my gut twist and my eyes roll as I thought, here goes another friggin article telling mom's that we are not good enough. We can be more perfect, more attentive, more more more. I was going to hit delete without even opening it, but hesitated. Then I clicked on the email and into the article. I was surprised to see the article talking about the pressures of being perfect and that we don't have to be perfect parents. Being a good parent means it's okay to let your hair down, let the toilet turn brown once in a while, to take care of yourself.

Let's face it, many of the baby magazines out there today promote this perfectionism that most of us just can't attain. It makes us crazy when our children don't master tasks that are shared in the "what does your child do at 12-18 months" section, even with the small, tiny print that says not all children meet this so called rule. The endless articles on how to lose the baby weight and showing some celebrity who looks fabulous leaving the hospital. They are filled with the perfect births, perfect babies.

I used to enjoy reading them. I'd gleam one or two things out of the magazine, but now...I can barely pick it up when I get one. I can find fault within my self without the help of a magazine. The pressure of being a good parent is large enough without 3+ different magazines/websites telling you "how to".