Archive for June, 2010

Being a parent is all about making decisions.  Let’s face it, until your kids are capable of making the right choice for themselves (even though they won’t always do it), you are going to be the one making the choices for them.  When you think about parenting this way, it really puts the pressure on.  The problem is that the right choice for your child really depends on who your child is and who you are as a parent.  There is no one right choice that will fit every kid.  Too bad, though, because that would make parenting a heck of a lot easier.

First you have your basic this or that decisions: breast or bottle, cloth or disposable, yadda yadda.  If you’ve read this post then you know which choices I made but you also know that I think everyone deserves the right to make their own decision based on their situation and lifestyle.  Anyway, not every decision is going to be as easy as a this or that. Take the pacifier for example.  When is the best time to take it away?  Or potty trianing.  When should you start?  And what about moving your toddler into a bed?  The answer to these questions – it depends.

It depends on your child and it depends on your situation and lifestyle.  Sure you’re going to look for advice from professionals and other parents.  But none of them will be able to give you a definitive answer to these types of questions.  (If they try to then they obviously don’t know anything about parenting).

Before I had kids, I thought that I knew everything there was to know about the little brats cherubs.  Boy was I wrong.  Sure I was a teacher and a nanny and I had been a camp counselor for years.  But none of those children were mine.  I didn’t have to make any of the hard decisions with regard to them.  Even now that I am a parent, I don’t know everything about raising kids.  I think I’m doing a pretty darn good job at raising my own, but hand me someone else and I’ll likely be stumped in some ways.  Oh and don’t think that just because something worked flawlessly for one of your children that it’s going to work for the others.  If you’re lucky it might, but chances are, it won’t.

What do you think are some of the more difficult decisions that you’ve had to make as a parent?  Where do you turn for advice in helping you decide?