What is your parenting pet peeve?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Parents who think that every "good" thing their kid does is because THEY did the right thing. News flash: some kids are good eaters, some are good sleepers, some listen well.

Not all of these things are related to your natural childbirth, crying/not crying it out, sleep training/not sleep training.

Sometimes you just get lucky, and if you get too cocky and think your prenatal yoga ensured a good-natured baby, I'm going to laugh all day long when #2 is a high needs basket case.

I agree with this to a point. I do think my kids are good sleepers partially by nature and partially because we were, and continue to be, devoted to them sleeping. My almost 4.5 year old still naps and goes to bed for 12 hours at 7:30. 22 month old does the same schedule and we have a two blissful hours of a quiet house every day. People have rolled their eyes about our devotion to naptime - grandparents were annoyed when we wouldn't "just stay another hour!" etc, but we both have time to work out, have sex, on and on. Yes, we lucked out to a degree, but we pushed it consciously.

That said, I do agree that the parents with the naturally easy, well behaved kid who take full credit and blame others with more complicated kids for their "crappy parenting" are a joke. And mine are pretty easy.

That's great but if you didn't have nappers, there would be no nap to be devoted to. You are lucky. Enjoy!

Totally lucky to a degree, but the friends who laughed at us when we took our kids home to nap last year are now like "we can't believe Johnny still sleeps so well!"

Lady, you are exactly that person -- who credits themselves for their child's good sleeping/eating habits. Trust me, it's not because you are devoted to nap time. It's because you have good sleepers. The end.

No, she is right. It is part luck, part nature, AND part priorities, especially for sleep habits.

Who are all these parents preventing their kids from napping? I have never met one. Everyone loves their peace and quiet. PP with the napping sounds like she's patting herself on the back for doing what 99% of parents do: go home and put the kid down for the nap.

I personally hated the nap stage and did away with it at 1.5. I know some people who's lives revolve around forcing their kids back to sleep all damn day.

Sleep is a biological/developmental need, especially for toddlers. I feel sorry for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Being A Great and Conscientious Mom Voice (hoping you will overhear me and be amazed at what a good parent I am) :

"Henry! You jumped all the way across that hopscotch pad! Way to go! Awesome job, buddy. Can you count to ten now? (Loudly and slowly counts to ten) TERRIFIC! Want a snack? How about WATER AND KALE CHIPS, your favorite! You're very welcome, thank you for your using your manners SO NICELY. Oh no no we don't wipe our mouths on our shirts. What do we do? NAPKIN, YES. Very good. What should we do next? Library then practice writing letters? YOU GOT IT LIL BUDDY!"

That's awesome! And so true.

[Anonymous]

I have a Facebook friend who takes everything her kid does as an opportunity to lecture other parents.

Look at what Larlo ate for lunch - kids need to be exposed to all sorts of foods and given no choice but what the adults eat. #nokidsmenu #pickyeatersnotallowed

Look at Larlo's arts and crafts project. Kids should be given every opportunity to practice their vocabulary - even in art!

And on and on. Why she feels the need to lecture the rest of us I don't know.

[Anonymous]

Count downs! Drives me mad!

"Loden/Annabella/Jackson/Hannah Rose (always a pretentious name)!"

"That's ONE! Loden? Loden Nathaniel? I said, 'one' and so that means that right now, you need to put that down, ok? Loden? Loden, buddy? Loden, that's two. two. Loden, I said 'two' and you know that if Mommy counts ALL the way to FIVE that there will be a time out, right? Remember? Loden? ok? Remember how we count to five and what happens, right? OK?"

OMFG! Grab you kid and pull him away! Why is this so hard? What are you teaching your kid here? Listen to me...but take your time, I'll just plead with you and try to be super friendly and patient, you don't need to really listen the first time, not when I make it all a game!

I hate you, Loden's mom!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Count downs! Drives me mad!

"Loden/Annabella/Jackson/Hannah Rose (always a pretentious name)!"

"That's ONE! Loden? Loden Nathaniel? I said, 'one' and so that means that right now, you need to put that down, ok? Loden? Loden, buddy? Loden, that's two. two. Loden, I said 'two' and you know that if Mommy counts ALL the way to FIVE that there will be a time out, right? Remember? Loden? ok? Remember how we count to five and what happens, right? OK?"

OMFG! Grab you kid and pull him away! Why is this so hard? What are you teaching your kid here? Listen to me...but take your time, I'll just plead with you and try to be super friendly and patient, you don't need to really listen the first time, not when I make it all a game!

I hate you, Loden's mom!

Hahahaaaaa!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate it when people say their child's full name in an effort to show how clever/adorable/darling they THINK the name is. They wait until someone is in earshot and then say "Aidan Jackson, time for lunch!"...."Arrabelle Grace, come here!"..."Liam Brayden!"..."Ellarose Ainsley!"


...and it's always the stupid names they're sharing.

My son's middle name was my father's name. He passed away before my son was born and I used his full name a lot as a baby because I guess it felt like I was fostering some kind of connection. In actuality, it was probably that I just missed my dad and was sad that they will never meet. anyway, it just stuck and now that's how he often refers to himself.

But sorry if that annoys you. ?

[Anonymous]

Parents who attribute EVERYTHING to nature rather than nurture/discipline/setting expectations and good habits, I assume so they don't actually have to parent. If you have such little impact on your kids just throw them to the wolves, let them be raised in the wild.

[Anonymous]

Why do you judge me? I sing to my kids all the time, I praise good behavior in public, I demand good naps, and I introduced variety so that they eat more than just PB&J with goldfish.

I work damn hard every day I stay home to create boundaries that benefit the kids and myself. So yeah when I pat myself on the back for not being a lazy parent while you sit around and zone out I judge you too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you judge me? I sing to my kids all the time, I praise good behavior in public, I demand good naps, and I introduced variety so that they eat more than just PB&J with goldfish.

I work damn hard every day I stay home to create boundaries that benefit the kids and myself. So yeah when I pat myself on the back for not being a lazy parent while you sit around and zone out I judge you too.

Pat yourself on the back, sure...but are you really so insecure/lonely/needy that you need a stranger to notice you and pat you on the back, too? It's the loud/conspicuous parenting we are judging, not the authentic parenting moments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you judge me? I sing to my kids all the time, I praise good behavior in public, I demand good naps, and I introduced variety so that they eat more than just PB&J with goldfish.

I work damn hard every day I stay home to create boundaries that benefit the kids and myself. So yeah when I pat myself on the back for not being a lazy parent while you sit around and zone out I judge you too.

People judge you because you walk around thinking you're the perfect mom and better than everybody else. The reality is you're just as flawed as the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Who are all these parents preventing their kids from napping? I have never met one. Everyone loves their peace and quiet. PP with the napping sounds like she's patting herself on the back for doing what 99% of parents do: go home and put the kid down for the nap.

Umm me? We like to do family activities on the weekend and don't schedule them around the nap. Our toddler might sleep in the car or stroller when we're on the go. Otherwise we'll try to push his nap to the morning or late afternoon. Sometimes when we visit family he'll go to bed an hour or two late in the evening. Yes, he's not a great sleeper but it's what works best for our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Count downs! Drives me mad!

"Loden/Annabella/Jackson/Hannah Rose (always a pretentious name)!"

"That's ONE! Loden? Loden Nathaniel? I said, 'one' and so that means that right now, you need to put that down, ok? Loden? Loden, buddy? Loden, that's two. two. Loden, I said 'two' and you know that if Mommy counts ALL the way to FIVE that there will be a time out, right? Remember? Loden? ok? Remember how we count to five and what happens, right? OK?"

OMFG! Grab you kid and pull him away! Why is this so hard? What are you teaching your kid here? Listen to me...but take your time, I'll just plead with you and try to be super friendly and patient, you don't need to really listen the first time, not when I make it all a game!

I hate you, Loden's mom!

I'm the PP who posted about hating when parents call out their child's pretentious FULL name.

[Anonymous]

When a parent berates their kid. It drives me crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Count downs! Drives me mad!

"Loden/Annabella/Jackson/Hannah Rose (always a pretentious name)!"

"That's ONE! Loden? Loden Nathaniel? I said, 'one' and so that means that right now, you need to put that down, ok? Loden? Loden, buddy? Loden, that's two. two. Loden, I said 'two' and you know that if Mommy counts ALL the way to FIVE that there will be a time out, right? Remember? Loden? ok? Remember how we count to five and what happens, right? OK?"

OMFG! Grab you kid and pull him away! Why is this so hard? What are you teaching your kid here? Listen to me...but take your time, I'll just plead with you and try to be super friendly and patient, you don't need to really listen the first time, not when I make it all a game!

I hate you, Loden's mom!

Ha ha. The public countdowns are always the begging, pleading variety that says, "I'm not a parent, I'm a poorly respected, uncompensated aide."

I really despise the compare the kids parents. I don't mean the ones who are kindly asking what Pete and Shirley are up to/stages/etc., I mean the competitive parent who wants to establish superiority. It's weird and had to remain neutral when someone is suggesting in oh so innocent a fashion that my kid's a complete fuckwit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents who attribute EVERYTHING to nature rather than nurture/discipline/setting expectations and good habits, I assume so they don't actually have to parent. If you have such little impact on your kids just throw them to the wolves, let them be raised in the wild.

No, we have impact, but it's like putting a rock in a rock grinder: you're going to polish the stone to its most beautiful, but it's still going to be the same type of rock you put in.