Here's an imperfect mom confession. My kids love their binkys and I let them have them. Yes, my son is 3 and my daughter is 2. Yes, I have felt the judgment and heard the criticism. Yes, I realize they are "too old for such infantile products" and yet, I pick my battles. The binky isn't a battle I want to pick yet. Admittedly this is for partially selfish reasons. Some days I simply don't want to hear any whining about it. They take them out when they need to talk to me because that's the rule, and they only get binkies at home or in the car (and only if they ask for them!) Am I ruining my precious babies for life? Probably not.
It's all about picking your battles, if you want to save an ounce of sanity. Most people cannot stand being nitpicked and criticized. I'm pretty positive our children are no different. It isn't our job as parents to mold our children into the person WE think they should be. It is our job to allow them to grow into themselves while being shown and taught compassion, kindness, love, and respect. Boundaries fall into those categories. It is respectful to clean up after yourself, not break nice things, and to speak kindly to others. Those are rules and boundaries we set. But when I get irritated because the kids are cleaning up their toys the "wrong way" I'm doing that obnoxious nitpicking critical thing we all hate so much!! I'm just not very perfect.
And now, back to the real world of chasing balloons around the kitchen and refereeing the kids arguments!
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