The other day, I committed the unforgivable sin. I committed the crime of mommyhood that I swore I would never commit – I became that mom – you know the one. The one who tells you what you’re doing wrong and what you should be doing because after all, I’m the expert – right?
The Know it All
Nobody likes a know-it-all. We’ve all met them. They’re the mom that just shakes their head at you or gives you the unsympathetic smile when they tell you that you should put your child on a schedule if you want more sleep or you would be better off giving them one food product rather than another. They’re the parent who wrinkles their nose at your choices and says, well do what you like but you might try whatever it is that works for them.
I always swore I wouldn’t be that mom. Yet there I was, standing in line in a store and I saw another mom having a hard time with her baby. He was fussing and just very unhappy. She looked a little frustrated and I tried to give her a hand by distracting the baby a bit. We started talking and she mentioned that she had a little trouble and I found myself telling her what she should do to help her out.
In mid-sentence I stopped and saw the expression on her face. The expression that just says please, tell me more about how lousy a parent I am. I apologized to her and I think that surprised her more than anything else I said.
I don’t want to be that mom. I don’t want to be a know-it-all. I sure don’t want to be in another mom’s face. I like writing here and sharing my thoughts, my ideas and what works for me. But every mom is different. Every child is different. Every incident is different. We can learn from each other and just because you’re an expert on your child and I’m an expert on mine doesn’t mean we’re experts on every one else’s child.
So for my part, I’m going to do my best to not be that mom again.
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