Did
I ever tell you I considered going to grad school for sociology, but
decided on the lucrative blogging profession instead? There is an excellent article in the Times Online
by a sociology professor about how righteous and dogmatic we have
become in our parenting styles. I'm not tackling the debate he refers
to in the beginning, because I think the more important piece is the
zealotry around different parenting philosophies. Start with this: "
The polarisation of the debate is symptomatic of an unprecedented level
of
parental insecurity and anxiety." I feel that! He goes on to explain
why certain decisions--breast versus bottle, co-sleeping versus crib--spark
so much hating and vitriol among parents nowadays. Because when you
think about it, it's telling that we get so darn worked up over what
someone else says or does or says about what you, um, does. Is it
because we see our parenting style as our identity and our children as
evidence we are good?
I'll call myself out here: When I was pregnant, I read a certain
righteous and popular parenting book...
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