I was just commenting on a blog about kids and technology, which reminded me of the last time I was at the ped. I was sitting with Izzy and another mother came in, awkwardly pushing her toddler in the stroller with one hand while holding a DVD player in front of him with the other hand. As I think back I cringe when I think of the four year olds with binkies, the mother ignorning her child as he tears around the room oblivious of who he runs over, the toddler who screams every swear word in the book at his parents while they talk on the phone and/or ignore him. I am a judgy mom. I try to control it- I try to only judge parents who do things that, from a developmental point of view, are doing things that are damaging to their children. But it is settings like this that make me regress.
What I have to do is first, take a breath. I am not an insecure parent, I do not need to bash other mothers to feel better about myself. I have to remember that what I am seeing is just a snapshot. For all I know this could be an isolated incident (except for the toddler yelling swear words- there's no excuse for that because he should have never heard those words)- maybe the mom with the DVD player had been in the car for a while and was simply letting her child finish a program he had been watching. And I have to remember that I am not perfect. There are moments when other moms might witness a regression on my part. Like when I "don't see" Izzy sneak grapes out of the bag before I've paid for it. Or when she is screaming because I won't let her out of the cart at the groccery store. I remember all of these things and I take a breath. And then I thank god that it's not my child who's terrorizing everyone in the room.
