Parenting Is Not For Wimps

It's so easy to criticize a mom for breastfeeding her 4 year old isn't it?  It's easy to dismiss it as gross or label it as abuse.  That mom who is wearing her baby in a Moby wrap at the grocery store must be attempting to establish a relationship with her child that leaves the child completely dependent on the mom, even through adulthood.  And that dad that shamed his son for wearing clothes that made the boy look like a fool?  He's a bully and a terrible parent.

I think there's nothing wrong with a mom breastfeeding her child until the child wants to stop or until her milk is gone.  If that means her child is 4, well isn't that between the mom and the child?  My son is almost two and if my milk hadn't dried up, 2.0 would still be breastfed.  Breastfeeding is good for the child and it's good for the mom.  It establishes a bond with the mom that the child will have with no other person.  If a mom can't breastfeed, she's made to believe that she's a horrible person too.  No matter what a mom does, she can't do it right.

Here's what my parenting philosophy is:

• I stay home with my child because I don't want him to be raised by anyone else.  There's nothing wrong with daycare if the place is a good place.  I just chose to keep my son with me.  
• I breastfed my child for as long as I could.  Cow milk is for cows and human milk is for humans.  When 2.0 was living off of my milk, that was the best thing for him.  Now he eats other things, but if I could still breastfeed, he'd still get some kind of breast milk if he wanted it.
• I spank my son.  I do this because he needs to have bad behavior corrected in a way that reminds him that the behavior was wrong in the future.  I was spanked and I'm a well rounded individual.  I don't spank him with objects and I only use an open hand.  My son doesn't have bruises or welts on him from my discipline or his father's discipline.  
• I like to spend time with my child.  I don't like to rely on babysitters.  I also like to be a part of his bedtime routine.  We do have babysitters occasionally because it's nice to go out and see a movie or spend time with adults without our child around.  But I like to be the one taking care of my child.  I gave birth to him.  I'm responsible for him.  Yes it's important that 2.0 realizes that Mommy and Daddy leave sometimes, but that Mommy and Daddy always come back.  And yes, I've spent a few nights away from him.  I also enjoy his company and want to spend a lot of time with him.
• I don't feed my son organic food.  He eats what I eat and I don't eat organic food.  He also gets to have chips every now and then.  He eats chicken nuggets and mac and cheese and french fries.  Does he eat that stuff all the time?  No.  He gets fruits and veggies too.  He gets plenty of protein and whole grains.  He doesn't drink a lot of juice.  He drinks water and milk.  I don't think it's bad that he doesn't get much more of a variety.  But I do give him Crystal Light.  
• I didn't sleep-train my child.  If he was up in the middle of the night, there was a reason.  I don't believe that 2.0 has the mental capability to emotionally blackmail me or to manipulate me.  He had a hard time sleeping through the night and just recently started sleeping well reliably.  When he was a little baby, I expected to get up with him.  I think that anyone who lets a child scream and cry in a crib as a way of teaching the child to be independent is being counterproductive.  The child only learns that no one will meet his needs if he cries when he's left to cry himself to sleep.  

I am my son's mom for the rest of my life.  I will always love him and care about him.  I won't always be responsible for him though.  Right now I am.  The choices I make on his behalf right now will echo through his life.  I'm just trying to make the right ones.