Where in the DMV are parents of young kids allowed to be imperfect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live on Capitol Hill. I don’t want to give many details for the sake of anonymity, but we have young kids, use the public schools, and are middle income for the area.

I feel like many people here don’t allow for any error when it comes to parenting. People obsess about childcare, school, activities. People research every parenting decision to find the error-proof, no fail option, and then proselytize extensively. It’s not that people are competitive, exactly (some are, but most find overt competition obnoxious). But many people are just hustling so hard at parenting. These are dual income families but they are making parenting extremely hard and high stakes, IMO.

I’m not like this and it stresses me out. We make parenting choices sort of intuitively. We make mistakes, figuring it will work out in the end or that we can always change tacks.

What neighborhoods/towns in the DMV have more parents like me and fewer like my neighbors? This is not a judgment of them, more and acknowledgement that this area is not for me.

Can I ask why it bothers you? Do people make comments to you about your parenting or exclude you or your kids because of your choices? I think I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m type A by nature and definitely research things before making choices, but I try not to go overboard and I make choices based on my individual kids and our family’s needs. I guess in some ways I’m less laid back than others (my kids don’t really get screen time and we don’t buy junk food), but I honestly do not care at all if other parents make different choices. Like I have friends whose kids watch lots of tv and I don’t think it’s any of my business and would certainly never say anything to them about it. I live in Tenleytown and haven’t experienced the proselytizing you describe.

Because most people that do the super parent thing as OP described just LOVE to talk about it and why they made that choice and why they think it is so good. It is exhausting for others just trying to be “normal” and not striving for an A++ in parenting.

This. My friends who take a more moderate approach to parenting don't constantly proselytize about their parenting because they are aware that they are making some compromises, figure you're making som too, and don't feel the need to try and convince you that they have figured out the ideal, optimal, parenting approach. Even in a situation where they are clearly being more successful in some area of parenting (like say their kids love vegetables and eat them all the time) than you (your kid won't even look at green foods without crying), IME this type of parent is more likely to say something like "yeah, mine is great with veggies but yours will walk all the way to school without complaining about how tired they are, that's a win." Like there's just this humility in this type of parenting where people don't feel the need to put themselves forward as an expert.

But my friends who are striving to be the most perfect parent ever would never make that kind of acknowledgement. They'd just give you advice on how to parent more perfectly, like them. It sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have said Columbia, MD, but yesterday's soccer snack was a bag that included seaweed and avocado oil potato chips amongst 3 other items, so I retract that statement.

Was it homemade though?

Kidding. 😆

[Anonymous]

Alexandria