This article,
entitled "Moms' 6 biggest sleep mistakes, and how to fix them", made me
kind of mad. I
was hoping for some sound advice as to how to get better sleep, or more
of it anyway, but instead I found an attack on my lifestyle and form of
parenting. The "mistakes" seem to revolve around the tendency of
many of us to put the very young child first (what ARE we thinking??)
by doing things like waiting until after the kids are in bed to do
chores (when else are they going to get done? seriously), staying
in your child's room until they fall asleep (sometimes there's no other
way. I think we all know this and have resorted to it at least
once, that is, if we don't out and out share a bed with the kid.), and
napping when the baby naps (hasn't this been accepted advice for
years?).
The article seems indicative of a larger problem, the
one that implies that a.) we should all parent the same way, and b.) we
should all be robotic parents capable of leaping piles of Legos in a
single bound while working from home, managing a household, keeping our
relationships "sexy", and preparing our preschoolers for their
SAT's. I thought we were done with this nonsense, so why is it
still cropping up and inspiring guilt everywhere? Can we all just
agree on the fact that parenting is haaaard, dammit? And that as
hard as it is, as frustrating, as sleep-robbing, as debt-creating as it
is, isn't it just about the best thing ever? I know it is for me
no matter how much I sometimes long for silence and to just.be.alone.
What
about you? Is this all just coming naturally for you, this
parenting gig, or do you wish there was a manual somewhere?
