A friend of mine posted this article recently. I'm not a parent yet but my husband and I have a lot of discussions about our possible future children.

It seems that many of the women I work with have these doofus husbands that think if they have to spend more than an hour alone with their kid(s), that is called "babysitting" and the wife should rush home as soon as possible to relieve them of this duty. It absolutely boggles my mind. And it makes me feel sad for those kids.

Here is the article:

 As a parent, I have wondered, are we making the right choices.

It can be to work or not work outside of thehome. To send them to camp or not. To buy them this or that, to allow them choices or freedom.

My son started junior high this year.  New rules, new friends, new way of doing things and more responsibility seem to have overwhelmed him.  We got his report card today and we were all pretty sure that it was going to be bad and it is.  He went from his best report card ever last year to his worst this year.

 I am totally drowning in mama guilt! Guilt over things I can't control.  Like, the fact that the kids (6 year old girl, 4.5 year old girl, and 11 month boy) will hardly eat any veggies.  Guilt over things I can control but am not very good at.  Like, the fact that I get annoyed at the constant messes they make or angry when they don't listen to my requests.  And then there is guilt over my feelings - feelings of frustration, feelings of being trapped, feelings of disappointment.  

My daughter is in grade 7 and has just turned 13.  Through the years she has had many friends, but a group of four has remained constant.  These girls have been wonderful and supportive friends for her.  Things are changing.....the other 3 girls are connecting with the "popular girls" and my daughter is being left out.   Her one friend has been considered her "best friend" all these years and she is really being nasty to my daughter.  This girl is working really hard on being popular, and busydaughter is not popular.  She is the sa

How would everyone feel about the government implementing a parenting liscence to the expectants?

Recently, I have begun writing memoirs for my children. nothing fancy. Just notes written quickly, and so quite brief - maybe just a page an evening. It's proven quite fun as each evening brings back events I had long forgotten, and gives me ideas for the next one. And, simple as it is, I think the children will always enjoy having it.  I might even begin incorporating old photos, get some use out of them - and photos will be far more interesting for the kids if they have a context for them.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090502.COWENT02ART2013/TPStory/TPComment/?query=

this pretty well sums up what is wrong with parenting today. a culture of "you can do whatever you want as long as you don't bother daddy/mommy". forget about others and how your child is bothering them.