Ever so often I find myself saying..."Thats just not my parenting style" and after I say that..I also have a good chuckle at the apparent paradox of what I have said...Parenting and style in the same sentence....Parenting has NO style...its as clumsy as one can be with two left feet...trying to dance with shoelaces that are knotted with each other...
Actually parenting is one thing that most of us parents...would want to do it the most elegant way and fall flat within the first few minutes of having that sweet baby in our hands...If you are thinking to yourself..."Na..thats not me!"....Please do not delude yourself...How many times have you thought to yourself..."Parenting was not supposed to be this hard/complicated?" if you have said that even once..welcome to the world of parenting klutzes..."My name is D...and I am a parent"
So coming back to parenting style...there are only two styles...Being a parent and not being a parent....
thats all!...there is no "Times New Roman", "Monotype Corsiva"...etc..
We wake up in the morning and the clock starts ticking...choices..decisions...threats..( yes..I used that...."You are going to eat this green looking goopy spinach..because I said so..or I am going to take that toy away".....to...bribes..("Dessert after food..."). So ..you see there is no time to concentrate..let alone..take the time to be elegant...you are a walking talking disaster prevention team.."Get off the table now!" to..."No you cannot pretend your sister is a bouncy trampoline!"...
So when I sit down late at night..such as today...and try to recollect what my most elegant moment of the day was...and I fail to remember a single magnificent parent moment...I say to myself thats ok....I pat myself on my back and let go....After all ...If Parenting was an exam...that you could be graded for...we could only give ourselves ..."I"- for- "Incomplete".....because all our lives...we are going to keep doing what you are doing...this course will never be completed...
So take a deep breath...and the next time some one gives you parenting advice that you think is insane..Smile..and say.."Thats not my parenting style" and chuckle to yourself under your breath!
Goodluck..may you ace this one!
