Category Archives: Parenting Police
Can’t you control your kid?
We’ve all heard it. Our kid is screaming on a plane, tantruming in a store, melting down in a restaurant and some annoyed bystander asks us, “Can’t you control your child?” In a word, no. At least, not at this particular moment. Sure, we can try to guide, model, coach and cajole, discipline, punish. Sometimes [...]
Surviving the Mommy Mafia
I’ll never forget my first introduction to the mommy mafia. A friend and I were sitting in on the couches in the Nordstroms women’s longue feeding our infants – me from the breast and my friend from a bottle. The moment my friend whipped out her bottle, another mother in the room started attacking her [...]
Also posted in On The Go 2 Comments
Labeling Parents Lazy
The parenting police are quick to judge – on blogs, in person and behind your back. If they decide that a parent is “checked out” — ignoring a misbehaving child while they shop for groceries, enjoy a quiet moment or try to engage in conversation with another adult — they are labeled a “bad parent”. [...]
No shame in what you don’t know
I’ve often wondered if other parents just instinctively know what to do when their kid is freaking out or if they’ve had to make as many mistakes as I have. I was blessed with a really easy first child, so by the time my active second one came around, I didn’t really know what to [...]
Also posted in On The Go 4 Comments
Is it our Social Responsibility to Control Children in Public?
A dear friend, who is one of the most organized and disciplined people that I know, mentioned that while she finds this blog interesting, she has never encountered any of these problems with other parents. I thought about that for a moment and realized that it made sense for two reasons: 1. Her children [...]
Lapses of Judgment
Two years ago today, three-year-old Madeline McCann was allegedly kidnapped from her hotel room in Portugal while vacationing with her family. This story is all over the news this morning, bringing up the emotions I felt when I first heard it: anger, sadness, resentment, RAGE. All directed at the mother. What were you thinking? How [...]
The Real Drama of Children’s Theatre