I recently argued that my little diva isn’t spoiled. When the post went up I felt a little presumptive, although most of it is tongue in cheek. Was I trying to pass myself off as the perfect parent?

I also recently posted about my dislike of breastfeeding, which made me feel like a bad mommy.

Are parents constantly being judged? And, more importantly, are we constantly judging ourselves?

Earlier today, Beast (age 4) and I went to Staples for some items for a client’s project. On the clearance table were a bunch of holiday ornaments in the shape of script letters. I was pleased that he recognized the letters despite their styling. Since we weren’t in any particular hurry for once, I went through the whole bunch with him, quiz style.

Turns out the lady next to me was a retired teacher. She complimented me extensively on my tutoring and said “What a great parent. I wish more parents were like you.”

Even writing her comment is hard for me. It’s great to hear, but you know my first reaction? Self doubt!

Do you have self doubt as a parent? Don’t. Let’s take a look at it this way:

Parenting is your profession, no matter what your other profession is. In your profession, your probably read books and blogs about the subject. You then put those tips and hints into practice. You measure the success and failure of your methods, and adjust accordingly. You talk to others about the field, and what works and doesn’t work for them. You take- or leave- their advice, or you adapt it to your own situation. You practice your craft as needed. You may even take classes on your craft. Sometimes you are an incredible (fill in the blank) and people notice. Sometimes you feel like a total failure in your field of (fill in the blank) and you notice.

Am I an excellent parent? Probably not. Am I a bad parent? No. However, I work at being the best parent I can be, and giving my kids the best foundation they can have, because parenting is my work.

Technorati Tags: parenting, breastfeeding, learning

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