It's Okay To Parent A Little Different Than Everyone Else

I don't want this to come off as mean or insensitive, it comes from a place of good, but there is just no other way to put it.

Can we stop judging?!!!

Please! Parenting is hard work! Extremely hard, and we certainly don't need the opinions or glances from everyone else, making us feel that we are doing things wrong. There is no perfect way to parent.

As long as you are feeding your children, keeping them clean, making sure they get their rest, and loving them with all your heart, you are doing things right! How you manage everything else in between is totally your choice and there is nothing wrong with that.

I think the key factor here is that every child is different. Each child has a different personality, a different style of learning, a different attitude. We are all different. This means that, what works for one child, or family, doesn't mean it's going to work for someone else's.

Here are a few things that we let our son do.

We let him play on our iPhones sometimes. Actually, it's more than sometimes, but I don't care. He has actually learned so much from the videos he watches on You Tube Kids. The thing is, I know what he is watching and sometimes, when I am trying to make dinner or need to get something really important done, I let him watch videos. I let him go on the iPhone when we are out to dinner. I would rather have my son sit at the table, behaving, rather than screaming and running around the restaurant, ruining everyone else's dinner. I know that some people may not agree with this but it works for us. I still read to my son, play games with him, go for walks, and he also spends a lot of time playing with his toys too!

We don't always give our son the healthiest meals and most of the food is not organic, but I will tell you what, he is a great eater. He eat's a variety of different things and I am so grateful for that. I wish I had more time to make really healthy meals for my entire family, but sometimes mini tacos from Trader Joe's, that I can just pop right into the oven, are the best option! I have also been known to give my son chocolate at breakfast, because I did not want to go into this big ordeal over trying to get him to let me change his diaper. I've learned to choose my battles, this was not one of them. I am so glad that phase is over!!!

I have also, on several occasions let my son sleep in bed with us. I am not sure when this became frowned upon, but I don't really care if it's something that I am not supposed to do. When it's 4am and all you want to do is sleep because in an hour an a half you have to get up for work, chances are you are just gonna let him sleep in bed with you. I am not saying this happens every night. My son does know that it is important for him to sleep in his own bed, but sometimes you just have to go against the rules!

photo by Sarah Ann Photography

These are just a few examples! I could go on forever, because the truth is, there are so many aspects to parenting and there is no one perfect way to do it. People may not agree with how we parent and we may not choose to do things the way others do! I am confident that I am doing the best I can in raising this precious soul. I love him more than life itself. I'm doing my very best (with the help of my husband, and my heavenly Father) to teach him what's right and wrong,  how to love others and to know who Jesus is. I am gonna mess up, I already have I'm sure, plenty of times, but my son knows who his mama and daddy are. He is learning how to love and respect others and what is good behavior and what is not. I feed him, bathe him, and make sure he is rested!

Everything else, can we please just stop judging each other for??! Don't be ashamed of how you parent! I know that you are doing an awesome job!

Many Blessings,