I woke up this morning to my oldest eating ice cream for breakfast, my youngest putting on the same clothes he has worn everyday for a week and my husband still sleeping on the couch after falling asleep watching TV. Was this a FB or Instagram worthy moment? Not really… But would I be ashamed for my friends, family or even a perfect stranger to know that’s what is going on in my house on a Friday morning? Absolutely not. Life happens. Kids are not perfect, spouses aren’t perfect, breakfasts are not always perfect. To the parents out there ( and I have personally never met a single one of you, because me and my friends live in the real world ) who’s children are perfect, who’s children are always ready on time, who’s children never pick their noses or pee outside in front of a group of people ( Yah, boy moms you know what I’m talking about ), who’ve never received a phone call from their child’s school because they were misbehaving, this blog is not for you. I am speaking to those of us who have said ” I need to poop” just to get 5 minutes of piece behind a locked bathroom door, those of us who have sat in our car and cried because our child messed up at school, or sat in our car and laughed because “Yessssss! It wasn’t mine who did it this time!”, for those of us who look at our child who wants to wear the ripped stained gross pair of jeans that make it look like they have been sleeping behind a dumpster, for those of us who have said “yes, you can have cereal for dinner” because honestly you just didn’t want to cook. I am here to say “YOU’RE AWESOME!, YOU DESERVE A BREAK, AND YOU’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG”. I was born and raised in a time where we got spankings, we got grounded, there was such thing as failing and being held back, there was 1rst, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons and not everyone got a trophy. I genuinely miss those times. I had my son almost 16 years ago and even then things were different. People still lived by the credo that you just didn’t tell another parent how to raise their children. Real grades existed and consequences were feared. If you’re a parent and you are constantly worried about what someone else will say about a tantrum or a dirty pair of pants, how are we going parent the way we feel is necessary? The answer… We are not! When I say IDGAF, this is what I am talking about. Does that lady staring at you in the Walmart because your 4 year old is throwing a tantrum know that s/he didn’t have their nap today? Does she know that you are one more “But it’s not ffffffaaaaiiiiirrrrr” away from breaking down and locking yourself in a bathroom “because you have to poop”? No she doesn’t. So stop caring! Deal with your child in the best way you know how and if anyone has any unsolicited parenting advice for you just say “I don’t give a fuck… But have a lovely day” and walk on. You post a picture to your fave social media and suddenly everyone and their dog has a comment about how your newborn shouldn’t sleep on their back/stomach/side/head/feet?…. Are you comfortable with it? Do you feel you did your research and this is the way you chose to put your baby to sleep? Lift your head, hit block and delete and just be proud of what you created and that you are doing your best. At the end of the day “Trust your intuition, it’s all you’ve got” not a bunch of parent shamers on social media.
Thanks for stopping by and I’m Natalie and IDGAF 🙂
Natalie's IDGAF Blog 