Friday, November 4, 2011

"I'm not going to let my kids do that" and other lies we tell ourselves

as I sit here with Winnie the Pooh playing on the tv in the playroom for the hundredth time, I am reminded of my judgy mcjudgypants attitude against parents who let their kids watch movies everyday. "I'm not going to let my kids watch movies everyday. no tv before 2 years at all, and then only 20 minutes a day. it offends me that parents are proud or think it's cute when their child can recite lines from a movie at a young age."

all a buncha bull.

ideally, I would love it if we took nature walks every morning, and went to enriching museums every afternoon. and the library. and the zoo. but that's not our current reality. and I have to let it go. right now, L watches Winnie the Pooh and the Lion King and Phineas & Ferb and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and PBS while I nurse H, or sit like a zombie on the playroom floor struggling to keep my eyes open. the tv isn't quite a babysitter - but it's definitely an extra set of hands so to speak. 4 years ago me is appalled. today me would tell her to get bent.

"you can do anything. but you can't do everything"

so - I don't get to be the mom who makes all her baby's food from scratch, or who doesn't let them watch tv, or who trains for a marathon while her kids nap. and that's okay by me.

I just hope this humbling epiphany will help me be less judgmental in the future.

-a

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