On Helicopter Parenting and a Will Friedle Bonus

I was reading this piece over at the always-lovely Design Mom about helicopter parenting, and it really got me thinking about  this hot-topic issue. I think as a first-time mom, there are definitely moments when I could have let Little Miss fall or get hurt without intervening and she would’ve been fine a few tears later. But it’s like a natural instinct inside to go “nooooo!” and reach out and grab them. Then there are other times when she does hurt herself and I think, oh well, that’s what happens, now you learn.

I love the thing that the man with eight kids says to the mom of one at the end. And he’s right. It’s ok, kids get hurt, then they learn, and it’s good for them to learn these things on their own and to learn to be brave and try new things fearlessly. But I, like the writer, feel like whether I had one kid or six, I’d still rush to keep them from being hit in the head by another kid on a swing (also because that happened to my brother once and he had to take an ambulance ride and get 14 stitches.)

In the end, much like most other polarizing debates about parenting issues (breastfeeding, co-sleeping, vaccines), I really don’t think it matters in the end. If you’re a loving parent and trust your gut, I don’t think most of these – what are in my opinion – small things in the big picture, do irreparable and lifelong harm to our children. What does do harm is other parents criticizing and judging each other. Having a kid is HARD. Like really hard. So is life. So let’s just cut everyone some slack, and move on. Besides, why do we care so much what the Jones’ are doing when it’s our kid that’s about to touch that hot stove top? Life is short, enjoy your time with your loved ones and stop looking at what everyone else is doing. Ok, off my soapbox now. 🙂

In other news, this is for my ever-sick lovely friend, Neon Princess who teaches tons of kids all day only to constantly find herself germ-ridden and ill. If you were a child of the 80s who ever had crushes on what now seem ridiculous 80s tween stars, this is for you too!

P.S. Also, if you’re obsessed with Instagram, and you don’t have the Beautiful Mess app yet, you should totally get it – it’s so much fun! That’s how I made the image you see above. It’s Little Miss playing peek-a-boo which she thinks is just the best thing ever. Still.