Comments on Girl's Gone Child: Good Parent

I feel like a bad mum today because I am on the in...

2007-06-17T11:27:33.048-07:00

I feel like a bad mum today because I am on the internet whilst my son is playing downstairs - a common occurrence. I found your blog by Googling "I am not a good mother".

To be honest, some days I feel I am a great mother, other days I feel I am lousy. I understand what you say about it somehow being more acceptable to say "I am a rubbish mummy". After all, no one likes a smug sanctimummy, do they? You know, the kind who started breastfeeding before the placenta was out and continued until the kid was in college. The kind who cooks everything from scratch and who is constantly interested in their child's development. I love my son - he is my life. However, I am not necessarily interested in every aspect of his development and I would rather watch TV than teach him about the universe. Tomorrow, however, I might feel differently!

Excellent post. I loved your page. Haii I wanted t...

2007-06-11T19:56:29.919-07:00

Excellent post. I loved your page. Haii I wanted to link to your post. I have already linked your post. Check out at http://allaboutparenting.blogspot.com . Interested in reciprocal rink

Good post! You can become confident by first ACTIN...

2007-06-04T14:15:39.695-07:00

Good post! You can become confident by first ACTING/BEHAVING confident! Pretty soon, it'll become a habit. I'm a great parent. I love being a mother. I can't wait to be a grandmother! I enjoy parenting. Even if I am a "mean" mom!

Trust your self. You sound like an awesome parent!

Julie
http://askmeanmom.blogspot.com

What a great "movement" to start...here's my post:...

2007-05-21T14:12:40.972-07:00

What a great "movement" to start...here's my post:

http://mamasaga.blogspot.com/2007/05/good-mama-great-mama.html

Cynicism is all well and good when we're grad students or hipsters or what have you...and self-deprecation makes for funny blogging and good bonding...but sometimes I think we need to be earnest and joyful, especially as parents, too!

You're totally right...Outside of my closest frien...

2007-05-14T00:28:23.065-07:00

You're totally right...Outside of my closest friends, I don't think I ever really do praise myself much. I am very open to talking about my hardships with my son, but I guess I've been trained by this culture of ours to feel like if say something good about myself or myself as a mother, then I am bragging. But also, the biggest reason I don't go around saying I'm a good parent if because I fear that other mothers will think by doing that, I am passing judgment on them and the way they do things.

Here's a link to my 'good mom' post. Thanks for giving me something to ponder.

http://xmas711.blogspot.com/2007/05/good-mother.html

I too have been turned off by the momoirs in this ...

2007-05-11T22:00:44.652-07:00

I too have been turned off by the momoirs in this vain I guess that is why we gravitate to the blogs we choose to respond to. I'm inspired by your challenge...I'm a teacher and thereby always thoughtful maybe too much so about my parenting but like you I think I'm raising an amazing kid...check out a future post in this direction..
www.mamamianosabia.blogspot.com

I did one too.http://chickychickybaby.blogspot.com...

2007-05-11T05:25:52.672-07:00

I did one too.

http://chickychickybaby.blogspot.com/2007/05/motherhood-means-sometimes-having-to.html

My post is uphttp://slurpinglife.typepad.com/slurp...

2007-05-11T00:57:12.539-07:00

My post is up

http://slurpinglife.typepad.com/slurping_life/2007/05/please_dont_let.html

Since I am a stepmom as well, I thought it needed ...

2007-05-10T13:35:52.389-07:00

Since I am a stepmom as well, I thought it needed equal consideration :)

http://maternalmirth.blogspot.com/2007/05/stepmom.html

Oh my God, amen! In my experience, I fit in so mu...

2007-05-10T11:11:05.378-07:00

Oh my God, amen! In my experience, I fit in so much better with other moms when I denigrate myself, joke about what a "loser mom" I can be, and of course, point out the various disgusting parts of my body. I'd like to say that I am a great mom, because I nursed all four of my kids even though I got severe, hospitalization-requiring mastitis each time, and with my third, he bit so hard into my nipple that I still bear a crescent shaped scar, nearly five years later. I also don't hang the kids out of the car window like windsocks when they're all bickering.

http://lottakids.blogspot.com/2007/05/real-moms-nurse-while-blogging.html

Hmm. Wow, I can tell this post is going to resonat...

2007-05-09T19:53:27.382-07:00

Hmm. Wow, I can tell this post is going to resonate with me for a while.
For me, when I bemoan my parenting, it's usually because I truly feel that I've failed my kids in some way. That, right there, is probably the most painful thing in my world. I HAVE failed them at times.
But the truth is, yes, I am quite good at this job I've devoted myself to for nearly 12 years. My boys are strong and kind and normal...ish. I adore them. And for much of their childhood so far it was just me on duty.
I think when I'm doing a good job I tend to enjoy them. When I fall short, I berate myself.
It never occurred to me that it might not be helpful to tear myself down like that.

I just wrote on this yesterday. Who knew that doin...

2007-05-09T13:39:55.747-07:00

I just wrote on this yesterday. Who knew that doing the right thing could hurt so much? Or that all the obnoxious platititudes about what you'll realize on the other side as you become a parent would have some truth in them. I'll be damned if I know how I am doing in the big picture, I am just trying to make the right decisions each day. Thanks for opening this conversation.
Here's the link:
http://lifewithbriar.blogspot.com/2007/05/tantrums-and-daydreams.html

Here is mine Rebecca:http://www.troll-baby.com/200...

2007-05-09T12:13:01.318-07:00

Here is mine Rebecca:

http://www.troll-baby.com/2007/05/09/africa-update-now-with-tits/

I hated breastfeeding.

I hope I've empowered a new mom out there with this post, because I know I'm not alone.

Thanks for a great, thought-provoking post. It spa...

2007-05-09T04:43:06.455-07:00

Thanks for a great, thought-provoking post. It spawned a post of my own as well:

http://amommystory.blogspot.com/2007/05/its-ok-to-be-good-parent.html

I had to mull this over for a while. I wrote the p...

2007-05-07T19:48:27.646-07:00

I had to mull this over for a while. I wrote the post in my head several times. Then what I actually wrote was nothing like what I was writing in my head...but anyway here is the link to mine:
http://coolzebras.blogspot.com/2007/05/best-mommy.html

Jumping on the bandwagon of good parents:http://ji...

2007-05-07T19:34:37.117-07:00

Jumping on the bandwagon of good parents:

http://jimikiwi.blogspot.com/

=)

Thank you for such a great post. You really hit th...

2007-05-07T12:30:22.771-07:00

Thank you for such a great post. You really hit the nail on the head with this one, Girl.

Here is my response. Sorry, it took me so long. This was harder than it seems :-)

http://quietlyshoutinginside.blogspot.com/2007/05/mommy-youre-best.html

You inspire me, as always!http://punditmom1.blogsp...

2007-05-07T11:17:13.030-07:00

You inspire me, as always!

http://punditmom1.blogspot.com/2007/05/it-depends-on-definition-of-good.html#links

Here's one for you. I loved this post! I don't n...

2007-05-07T10:49:17.891-07:00

Here's one for you. I loved this post! I don't necessarily agree that we shouldn't write about the bad stuff (I don't think you're saying that anyway), but I definitely need to make an effort to write more about the good.

http://lawyermama.blogspot.com/2007/05/good-bad-and-mommy-blogging.html

Thanks for the great reminder!I am a great mother ...

2007-05-06T20:15:05.372-07:00

Thanks for the great reminder!
I am a great mother because I truly love being a mom. I am many many more things besides a mom, but this title is the one I am most proud of.

Thanks so much for putting this idea out there. I...

2007-05-06T19:51:53.909-07:00

Thanks so much for putting this idea out there. I know I get too caught up in what I'm doing wrong that I never take time to acknowledge what I'm doing right, and doing well.

Here's my contribution:
http://thebookishone.blogspot.com/2007/05/maybe-im-not-so-bad.html

Great post! Love this idea. I have a post up at ww...

2007-05-06T10:51:30.990-07:00

Great post! Love this idea. I have a post up at www.letterstomydaughters.com. Thanks for the inspiration to feel good about ourselves.

Yes, you said it well. I think it's more fun to m...

2007-05-06T10:04:06.769-07:00

Yes, you said it well. I think it's more fun to make fun of ourselves than to be so full of sunshine and unicorn and fuzzy kitten love over our parenting skills. After reading Jennifer's post along this theme - at Playgroupsarenoplaceforchildren.blogspot.com, I have written my own post about what a wonderful mom I am.

http://augalinfp.blogspot.com/2007/05/not-mom-of-year.html

Thanks for this post. It's wonderful. You are so r...

2007-05-04T20:56:29.425-07:00

Thanks for this post. It's wonderful. You are so right. I'm an expert mama and I blogged about it today. Thanks for the encouragement!

Here's my post:
http://intedomine.blogspot.com/2007/05/good-mama-real-mama-expert-mama.html

I make her laugh. I make her smile. I make her thi...

2007-05-04T16:17:36.143-07:00

I make her laugh.

I make her smile.

I make her think.

I make her happy.

That's my job and I'm stickin' with it...