I have one more thing to say about being mom enough, and that’s this:
Rixa, of Stand and Deliver, took the time to make a Photoshop template of the Time Magazine cover and invited her readers to make covers of their own. I took the bait, and after thinking a while, this is my contribution: “More than once this week, Amber Hinds has put on a movie to entertain her toddler while she napped. […] Nora, 2.5, can now recognize several Disney characters.”
We all do things that, on their own, could make us out to be “bad” parents. Despite my New Years resolution to let Nora watch less “TV” on my computer, several times in the past couple weeks I have given her a snack and turned on a movie to keep her entertained while I took a nap. On the face, that may sound like a horrible parenting move or, at least, not what I ever imagined to be one of my parenting practices…but I’ve come to realize that there is nothing wrong with giving ourselves a break and if a little afternoon sleep gives me the energy for more games of hide’n’seek and reading giant piles of books before working late into the night, then afternoon naps are a beautiful thing. And despite what many parents might think, an hour of Thomas or Finding Nemo isn’t going to kill her.
This better Time cover is my hommage to the fact that no one can make me feel guilt for an occasional hour that is not in the least bit educational. You can see more new covers at Rixa’s blog, and I’d love to hear in the comments what “bad” parenting practice you are NOT guilty about.
Meg Glidden
This brings back memories. Nannying in college, 5:30 every afternoon, let the 3 kids watch Mr. Rogers while I made dinner. As I didn’t know how to cook at the time this was so worth it. Thank you again, Mr. Rogers. My bad parenting practice? Letting the kids run around naked in the yard until they were 2 or 3 (I forget). Who cares? They were having fun and it saved on the laundry.