Parents Talk. Just Not To Each Other...

Daddy Geek Boy wrote this post and at first I was hesitant to post it because it has a parent theme to it and we wanted to kinda stay away from the feel of a Mommy Daddy blog. But as I got into reading it, I realized he was talking about the RELATIONSHIP between parents which I thought was interesting. So thanks DGB for an interesting twist to a real life relationship quirk between parents! :)

It isn’t long after the first kid is born that parents begin to notice other parents…and critique them. We observe their mistakes—a dad struggles to discipline his kid with empty threats; a mom frustrated that her child won’t eat dinner, yet gives her dessert; toddlers are fed choking hazards like whole grapes or popcorn; a baby drinks chocolate milk from a bottle. It’s easy to see what others don’t. We witness these things, but dissect them in privacy.

It’s comforting to know that there is a fellowship among parents. We constantly offer aid and support, telling each other things like which neighborhood pediatrician has a good reputation, the best kind of car seat to use, which stores on Etsy have the best stuff. We talk about what parenting books we should read, what recipes we should make, how old the kid should be before potty training, when is the best time to show them “Star Wars.” Collectively, we are the proverbial village helping to raise each other’s children. But only to a point. Because parents may offer each other a lot of advice, but we absolutely do not tell each other how to parent.

A lot of times, the things that parents complain the most about their children are caused by the habits and behaviors of the parents themselves. It’s sometimes so clear why a kid is misbehaving to everyone but the parent of the disobedient child. We notice everything, but say nothing. There’s a reason why “Super Nanny” is so popular. She waltzes into any situation and says, in her plucky British accent, the things we cannot say to each other. She is our unchecked id.

But can you imagine a world where everyone could be the Super Nanny? If society deemed it socially acceptable for parents to talk to each other and point out our mistakes? Personally, I’m a pretty awesome (and humble) parent, but I’d love to know if I’m doing something wrong. Wouldn’t you? If somebody could offer you a piece of advice that could make life with your kid a little bit easier, wouldn’t you want to hear it?

But yet we can’t. We don’t. We shouldn’t.

Why do you think we as parents can tell each other everything but the obvious?

Daddy Geek Boy