Monday 29 August 2011

Judgement Day.

I am sick at the moment.  Yes, all feel sorry for me, do.  I am one of "those" sick people who expects people to feel sorry for her at all times.  Anyway, when I'm sick, I tend to lie in bed thinking about various things and trying to fix the World and all of its problems.  Don't you?  So, my blog today is about *dun dun dun* Mother's judging other Mother's.


I joined my first parenting forum when I was heavily pregnant with Liam, my first.  It didn't take long before I started observing how judgemental parents can be of other parents.  I was shocked!  Almost six years later, I'm still shocked at how nasty and downright rude people can be!  Oh and let's not forget higher then thou.  Holy crap!

Don't breastfeed?  Let me call DOCS.
Gave birth via caesarean?  You call yourself a Mother?!
Use disposable nappies?  Don't you realise what you are doing to your baby?
Give your kids Nutri Grain for breakfast?  Well, say goodbye to their teeth.
You let your kids have lollies?  Mine only ever have fresh fruit.
You smack your kids on the bum when they run onto the road in front of a car?  Don't you realise what harm you are causing them, they will now grow up to be hardened criminals.

And.... IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!! *insert shifty eyes here*

Honestly... do you think this kind of judging was around when our parents were raising us?  I'm sure that there was some sort of judging going on but not like what is around today.

I don't know why it is worse today, if only I had that answer! I do think that the internet plays a part though and all of those wonderful "studies" that they put out there.  There was one I saw recently that if you put your child in a pram that wasn't facing you, you were causing irrevocable damage to your baby for some reason or other. 

Where do these people get off??!!! Seriously!!

Oh, I admit, I have judged before.  I have judged when I have seen a baby that would of been under 12 months drinking Coke out of a bottle and I have judged when I have seen a woman slap her child on the back of the head for asking for a lolly.  I think it is in our human nature to judge others, and there are times when people deserve to be judged, like the two instances above.  Of course I've judged when people haven't deserved to be judged as well.  I like to think that I don't do that as much now though, thanks to myself being judged and seeing other women on parenting forums be judged and ridiculed for their parenting.
It isn't surprising that post natal depression is more common these days.  Parenting forums are wonderful, I have made some awesome friends and have learnt so much from them, but they can also be quite evil.  Once you are ganged up on, it can be traumatising, 

I don't know what the point of this blog is today.  It has been playing on my mind for... oh... six years now.  Marti from Brass In My Pocket did an awesome blog about this a little while ago.  She says things so much better then me, so go read hers.

Anyway, now I am going to go and lie my poor pneumonia riddled body down and think about what other things are pissing me off on this fine Monday morning.

Have a great day and remember NO judging!

1 comment:

  1. my 2c worth is I agree with you 100% there is too much judgement but it goes both ways when it really shouldn't go any way.

    I get judged because I home birth, I breastfeed shock horror IN PUBLIC and god forbid I bf xander until he was 3, I use cloth nappies as i have an unhealthy addiction to them I baby wear because trying to shop with 4 kids with a pram is just crazy, I co sleep because quite frankly I'm too lazy to get up in the middle of the night to feed but seriously the amount of judgement I get for these things is just crazy.
    so as I say I agree with you how about we just stop judging everyone and let us do our best

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