Have we become a society that puts parenting in a box? Shawn Fludd examines our need for parenting labels.
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We live in a society and generation where everything has a label, including the way you parent.
There’s “Attachment Parenting”… but what if you are just simply fulfilling needs that a child has for attention and bonding?
And if you’re a strict parent, some may say you are an “Authoritative Parenting” method.
Then there are the kids who want to sleep in your bed and you really don’t mind it… but the world will label you as a “co-sleeper.” What if a kid just likes to sleep by mom and dad and they happen to end up in their bed most nights?
There’s also this new one… “gooey parenting” or “sticky parenting” (or maybe it’s gummy, I don’t know). It’s supposedly something along the lines of a lower level of the “attachment parenting.”
Well, I have this today, sometimes my kids are attached, sometimes they’re sticky and gooey, sometimes they’re whiny, shoot…sometimes they’re downright poopy but I don’t necessarily need to have a label for it.
For those that like the use of the terms and like the guidelines of parenting… that is totally cool with me. I get that these are “scientific labels” and that everything you do as a parent has an effect on your children (intimidating, I know). So I have nothing against those of you who go by the labels and like to follow the methods. This parenting thing didn’t come with a handbook, so some like the structure and guidelines.
But then there’s people like me who are just living life. Parenting the best we know how, giving our kids the best we can, and trying not to keep anything related to parenting in a box… because it’s really so unpredictable. Sometimes I feel like it’s confining to have a label as a parent. So if my kid sleeps in my bed I’m calling it “my kid likes to snuggle with mom or dad and it makes him feel safe and that’s okay” and if they need extra affection and attention, I’m calling it just that.
So comment below…what do you think of all these methods with labels, and do you like to have them as a parent or do you prefer not to?
Originally appeared on Bear & Boo.com
Photo: Flickr/Ronald Lakls
Great points around parenting. I despise many of the labels and pigeon holes are placed in by society. It’s so incredibly judgment based and suits someone else’s needs, rather than our own.