I
s there any topic that elicits a more
emotional response
than parenting – or, more
specifically,
mothering
? Whether we have kids or not, whether we’ve got little ones or big ones,
whether they turned out brilliant or, well, average, we all seem completely convinced that our
opinions on every part of parenting are perfectly correct.
Is a mum feeding her
baby formula?
She must be irresponsible. Is a mum still breastfeeding
her 18-month-old? That seems excessive. Is a mum attending playgroup with her kids? She’s helicopter-
parenting. Did a mum let the helper take the kids to a birthday party? She must not love them enough.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, especially during my years here at
Playtimes
, where I
spend hours and hours
discussing parenting topics,
reading up on all the latest research
and hearing different parenting experiences from around the world. I’m not sure if it’s because agreeing
that someone else might have a better idea is an indictment against our own mothers and, consequently,
could mean we didn’t turn out as perfectly as we think, or because acknowledging that a
different
way of parenting
could mean we’ve ruined our own kids somehow. But, one thing is clear: we like
to
judge other parents,
and we’re not shy with the snark.
So, this month, as you read the articles inside, I hope you’ll accept them in the spirit in which they
were intended. This and every month, we do our best to bring you
research and opinions
on
parenting topics,
both age-old and trendy.
But then it’s up to you to decide what makes the
most sense for your own family… and to allow other parents to do the same,
free from scorn and
judgement.
It’s how we hope our kids will behave, right?
Thanks for reading,
Tracey Starr, Editor-in-Chief
welcome
Tracey and model Gaston
6
Playtimes
