Judging Each Other

Buzzfeed presented 17 things parents judge each other for but really shouldn’t.

Sure, it’s great not to judge but … you know … sometimes it is. Let’s investigate:

1. How you feed your baby.

Why not to judge: Breastfeeding is natural and easy for some — medically impossible for others. Do not judge on breastfeeding or formula feeding a baby.

When to judge: When I saw a 3-year-old drinking a venti chocolate chip frappaccino with a cookie. That judging is A-OK. Also, if you breastfeed a child who is old enough to have a serious post-drink discussion with you about your parenting.

2. Pacifiers.

Why not to judge: Because kids differ. My son is 2 1/2 and we’ve been down to pacifiers only in his bed for about 6 months now. I’d like to get it gone completely, but he loves it so much he was born with a chaffed thumb from sucking.

When to judge: When it’s in his high school backpack.

7. How you educate your kids.

Why not to judge: People’s lives differ. Sometimes the best school in the area is the Catholic School. Sometimes it’s a public school. Sometimes the options are not very good (or you are a military family always on the move) and you are able to home school your child. Different children and different families require different things.

When to judge: When you barely have a middle school education and you’re home schooling your kids. This scares me greatly.

8. Sleep.

Why not to judge: Children are different. While I would strongly discourage anyone from bringing their kid ever into their bed because it sets a pattern, this was an issue with our son because he was sick for a period after starting day care, coughing all night every night, and awake yelling so we brought him into our bed. Now, at age 2 1/2, he generally sleeps through the night in his own bed (last night from 8:30 – 6:30!) but those moments when he’s cuddling against you are some of the best ones.

When to judge: When you have to move into college with him so you can share a dorm bed.

11. Using a leash on your kid.

Why not to judge: I’m out of compassion on this one. When I see a kid on a leash, it’s usually because the parents are morbidly obese and unable to chase after a toddler or too lazy to attempt to do so. Kids run — either teach them not to or keep up. (Also a possibility is that you have too many kids to handle but, again, that’s not an issue to solve with a leash.)

When to judge: Always.

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