Would you ever use a leash with your kid? ASKING FOR A FRIEND #parenting

— Poppin’ Bottles (@PBDadCast) August 31, 2016

For me, I’d never use it. But that isn’t really the point. It got me thinking about just how quickly we snap to judgments about something another parent did. It happens everywhere we go, all the damn time. At the park: “I can NOT believe that parent is on their phone and ignoring their kid!” or “I can NOT believe that parent is playing with their kids like that!”

At the grocery store: “Can you believe they are just letting their kid freak out like that?!” or “Look at the food they’re buying, how dare they feed that to their kids!”

Talking to another parent: “Oh yeah, well I would never do that. You obviously don’t know what you’re doing.”

And don’t even get me started on social media. When the story broke about the kid falling into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, the entire world was so quick to judge that parent’s actions. Guess what? None of us were there. We didn’t know what happened. Eyewitness accounts hadn’t even come out yet and we were all calling for the mother’s head because a beautiful gorilla had to be shot to save the kid. It’s a terrible story. It’s awful. That doesn’t take away from the point. We judged the ever-living shit out of that mother right on the spot. How would you feel if that were you? Pretty fucking terrible, that’s how you’d feel.

I’ve got a little newsflash for you: We’re all really fucking guilty of judging the shit out of every other parent we meet in our life or come across on the internet. I get it, it is human nature. And ya know what? It’s really fucking shitty of all of us. Guess what? I’ve done shitty things as a parent! ::audible gasps:: I know, right?! My kid walked out the door, and down the street when she was 2-1/2. I had no idea where she went. Did I get judged? I don’t know for sure, but it’s a strong probability. Guess what else? I accidentally knocked my other kid down a flight of steps! And it sucked! I felt awful! I wrote about it, too, and I’m pretty damn sure I was judged for it, too.

What’s my point? That we all do terrible shit as parents. Shit we wouldn’t want someone calling us out on, stuff we aren’t proud of. And oftentimes, it’s accidents. They happen. So, maybe next time you see something on the internet or out in public, in your neighborhood, or at your kid’s school that screams out “I MUST JUDGE THEE!”, take a step back, think about your own misgivings, and then kindly shove your judgments up your ass.

How often have you felt judged as a parent? Do you judge other parents too harshly? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter, or Facebook!

Dear Other Parents,

Last time I checked, YEARS are still a thing. Not only are they still a thing, y’know a measurement of time, they also apply to our kids. Not just us! So I think you can understand my confusion when I ask you how old your kid is and you give it to me in months, yet the kid is clearly over ONE YEAR old. Don’t tell me 36 months if they are 3 years. Just say 3 years, it’s so much easier. Is this a pediatrician-related thing I don’t know about? Or are you just trying to prolong your kids’ youth at every possible moment?

Look…if you’ve forgotten, here it is:

4 weeks = approximately 1 month

12 months = 1 YEAR

I’ll even give you a pass for kids under the age of 2. You spend the whole first year of their life calling it out in months, so slipping back into that mindset between 1 year and 2 year birthdays can happen. I can get behind that.

But dear lord….it’s truly starting to drive me crazy. Somebody please explain and tell me there is a logical explanation.

Cheers,

-Ben

@PBDadcast

@BKMullen_