We’ve all been there – received a disapproving look in the supermarket for shouting at your child or using bribery to get them into their car seat.
Or maybe you’ve read an article online about how not to parent your kids and thought “Oh bugger, I did all of those today!”
Here’s just a few of the things I’ve done that count as socially unacceptable parenting…
Screen time
Yes I give my 5 year old the iPad so she leaves us to sleep past 5:30am every day. Yes I let her use it when I’m cooking dinner or tidying up. And yes, we have used it in restaurants so that we can finish our food in peace. Do you know what, we even have a DVD player in the back of the car to keep her quiet – best invention ever.
Sugar Rush
There’s constant articles about how terrible sugar is for kids and I am in total agreement with all of this. However, it’s really hard to find snacks without tons of sugar in them. I’m afraid I’m not the kind of mum who bakes sugar free treats (or bakes at all actually) or can persuade my daughter to ‘snack’ on raw vegetables. I do give her biscuits after school or a packet of sweets to sit in the trolley quietly, and Jamie Oliver would probably have a fit if he looked at the sugar content of the yogurts and cartons of juice in her lunchbox.
Posting photos of tantrums on Facebook
I recently watched a couple of mums commenting on a photo on Facebook (someone else’s thank goodness) about how embarrassed this poor child would be if they saw the picture their mum had posted – it was a child lying on the floor having a tantrum. I personally found it really funny and it definitely made my daughter look more normal. I’ve uploaded photos of my daughter in the middle of a ridiculous meltdown before and I’ll probably do it again – after all sometimes if you don’t laugh about it you’ll end up crying!
Moaning about your kids
This one kind of goes hand in hand with the above. I’ve found that a lot of mums will never say a bad word about their little darlings for whatever reason. I learnt quite quickly that if you dare utter a negative word at a baby group about your child you’ll soon be outcast from the ‘popular crowd’! So I stuck with a few like minded mums instead, we moaned about our kids and felt a whole lot better when we went home.
Bribery
Another parenting method that gets you a few frowns from ‘those’ kind of mums. I’ve used bribery since my daughter was small and I’ll probably still be using it when she’s a teenager. I agree it’s not the best method but if I can get her in her carseat/to walk to the car/be quiet for the price of a chocolate biscuit then I’m winning.
Drinking alcohol before 7pm
Sometimes a day is that bad that you just have to open the wine before the kids are in bed. It’s definitely not socially acceptable, and it won’t win you any Mum of the Year awards but if it stops you wanting to put the kids up for sale on eBay then I’m all for it!
Everyone will have their opinions on the best ways to parent and sometimes you just can’t win. I’m firmly of the belief that happy mum = happy kids, so if any of the above ‘bad parenting methods’ save your sanity then go for it.
If you liked this post, why not subscribe to have future blog posts, tips, advice and competitions from Digital Motherhood emailed to you:
Oh, so funny. I’ve done most of these things. It’s nice to know there are other mom’s like me out there.
Ummm… yes to all of these things!! I’ve taken a video of my daughter having a tantrum and she loves it. She’s not embarrassed in the slightest, she thinks its hilarious. She’s 4. When she sees it she says: Look how silly I was being mummy.
She doesn’t even care!!
Also – there isn’t a chance in hell that my kids will snack on raw veg sticks. No way! My guys will eat fruit and crackers and I”m ok with that. things could be worse.
FINALLY: why be a parent if we can’t moan about our kids occasionally??
I honestly dont know how people managed on car journies with more than two kids pre- screen days. my two will literally kill one another if theyre not looking at something in the back of the car. also yes to the sugar – it is literally everywhere. even in fruit! what am i supposed to do?? #brillblogposts
Ok, you MUST have spent a day in my house to compile this list. I do every single one. Except the drinking but that’s only because I’m pregnant. Not going to lie, I have had a non-alcoholic kopperberg to just try and say the thought is there. 100% agree and love every single point. So good!
#brillblogposts
Done many of those! Bribery works well, although I call it offering an incentive!
I think most people do most of these things to save their sanity!! Not an easy job being a parent! #KCACOLS
I’ve done all of these very recently… *hangs head in shame* I am a baker but I never reduce the sugar content of my creations…. they just don’t taste as nice! I’m also totally unbothered about the girls screen time. I often actively encourage it since we are living in a digital age I think it’s important that have a very strong grasp on it all.
Shock! Horror! Quick report her as a bad mum! Any screen time is the spawn of Satan and lazy mothers!
#KCACOLS
Ha ha, I guess I’m in the bad parenting club because I do all of these and actually consider them parenting essentials! As long as the kids are happy and not trying to kill each other (or me) then it’s a success x
#KCACOLS
I’d be very suspicious of any parent that tried to tell me that they’ve never done any of these things #KCACOLS
Ha ha, these are great. I give my daughter a chocolate treat and as for drinking before 7pm….well, it’s a must some days 😉 #thelist
Oh the bribery! There’s not a lot of things in parenting I would agree makes a rod for your own back but this certainly has for me. If I ask my daughter to tidy anything nowadays she’ll ask me for a quid! #KCACOLS
All very true! Especially about not saying a bad word about your kid – Piglet is not perfect, nor do I ever pretend he is. I am entitled to moan about him on occasion! Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday
The only one I haven’t done is post a tantrum photo, although my daughter is older now, I should post her sulking face picture lol.
#KCACOLS
I think everyone is guilty of this at some point, I do try to limit screen time, but my son is only 8 months old and I hope he doesn’t become reliant on to/iPads for entertainment in the future. I bake but I never reduce the sugar content, I tried once and it was so gross that I threw it out! #KCACOLS