This whole mommy shaming thing has got to stop! I’m speaking as a person who is not yet a mom but takes care of a tiny human who looks similarly enough to be mistaken for my daughter. When did it become okay to tell a complete stranger how to parent their child? We need to go back and time and smack the person who deemed it okay. Yes, my tiny human is crying to get out of the stroller in CVS. Yes, it would make her quiet down if I let her out. However, I don’t have the time to chase her around the store. I can guarantee you that the second those straps come down she will take off. It has happened enough for me to put my foot down. See, I know that because I’ve been there. You, complete stranger, have no prior knowledge of what happens with us in this store. I don’t need your remedies for how to alleviate the redness on her face. She is a child with a runny nose and we have been out in the cold. It is just something that happens. Maybe I already know what to do to fix it. Maybe I have already put the ointment on there while she naps because otherwise she will lick it off. If I asked for some suggestions then I would welcome your opinion, but I did not so step off. Yesterday I had a man tell me that my tiny human should be wearing a scarf, but he “didn’t want to say anything.” Cleary you did want to say something sir. Have you ever tried to put a scarf on a two year old? Guess what! If she doesn’t want to wear it, she will pull it off. I could spend a half hour fighting with her OR I could go about my day. If she’s going to get sick there isn’t anything I can do to stop it. Germs are everywhere.
I cannot imagine trying to tell strangers how to live their lives. Does no one else think about how it would feel to constantly be told how to do something you know how to do? Look, if you want to cut your child’s grapes into fourths so they have a smaller risk of choking then you go right ahead and do that. Don’t pass judgement on me because I don’t have time to do that. The guidelines say to cut them in half and that is good enough. Even if I didn’t, I’m trained in CPR and the Heimlich, so she’ll be just fine. If you are not purposely bringing harm to your child, then you should be able to parent them as you please without all of the added commentary. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?