Moms Hating on Moms

I'll be honest; I can definitely have a "mean girl" mentality.  While its not nice, I enjoy sitting around with a couple of lady friends, drinking some red wine, and having a good old-fashioned bitch session.

That being said, I hate when moms hate on other parenting styles.  I just watched Mayim Bialik, star of Blossom and currently on The Big Bang Theory, on Nightline.  She was discussing her new book, Beyond the Sling, which discusses attachment parenting.  The definition of attachment parenting, or AP in the sassy parenting lingo, is a wide one.  It can include activities such as nursing, co-sleeping (however you define it), and baby wearing, among others.  Her brand is a little, well, extreme.  She is the poster-child, if you will, for AP.  It's a time consuming and very controversial method, but a lot of parents today subscribe to one aspect of it or another.  For us, we nursed as long as we could, and I am a firm believer in the benefits of wearing my kiddo.  Either way, I found myself being surprised about her parenting techniques...and a little judge-y.  Not cool, Megan.

That all aside, I am always shocked at the visceral reaction moms have to things they don't agree with.  As long as another mom isn't putting her kid in danger and it works for them, live and let live.  Moms should be supportive of one another.  Being a parent (mom or dad) is a tough job and having the rest of the world judging you doesn't help.

The internet shows both the best and worst of parental support.  The blog community allows moms to find like-minded folks and band together.  Comments, however, express the worst of the judgement.  I find that boards, like those on The Bump, illustrate both ends as well.  While many moms are there to lend an encouraging word, there are four more behind her to tell you what you're doing wrong and why you're an awful parent.

I felt like I had to get that off my chest.  Let's be good to each other, folks.  If I'm going to discuss parenting here, I'd hope my readers would abide by that simple idea.

- M.