Parenting ain’t what it used to be (thank goodness)

Parents these days, they don’t know they’re born.

So say the previous generation, anyway.

OK not all of them, but a not-insignificant subset who seem mightily miffed that parents these days have it so easy.

You should struggle on, otherwise what’s the point in being a parent?

If you can’t martyr yourself to the cause, if you’re not truly suffering, why even bother at all?

Case in point: Parent and child parking spaces.

In my day, there were no such things. How did we survive? Oh wait, we were fine.

Sorry Margaret, but you’re not going to make me feel bad for utilising the nice big parking space that’s right there so that my toddler doesn’t smack the BMW next door, or get mown down by a lunatic because there’s nowhere for him to stand while I’m getting the bags out of the boot.

And it goes on…

In my day, there were no disposable nappies. We had to wash and dry everything by hand! A machine that MAKES your baby’s milk?! We just had to breathe on the baby food until it was warm. There were no such thing as microwave recipes or oven chips, we HANDMADE our children’s food. You parents today, you’re just lazy, no wonder your kids are fussy eaters.

Well that is marvellous, but life was slightly different back then wasn’t it Barbara? You had the luxury of time; after all, a mother’s place was in the home and you weren’t expected to get up and go to work. A bit rubbish maybe, for some, but not our fault.

Don’t begrudge my freezer teas, just don’t. I bet my kids would hate your cooking equally.

IPads? Totally unnecessary. Parents these days just don’t want to pay attention to their children.

Well bully for you, Marjory. Maybe that parent has a work deadline? Maybe they are just plain FED UP of the whining. And didn’t one of your kids go to prison…?

As for car seats, what a load of nonsense. We just strapped our kids to the roof and they were fine. 

Oh give over.

Listen to me, bitter people whose children have flown the nest and don’t call you enough leaving you too much time to be hideous to other people on the internet: Stop begrudging modern parents things that make their lives easier and make their children’s lives safer.

Parenting is not a competition of who had it hardest. Using the tools available to us, in this the year 2018, is not cheating. Being a parent is hard, no matter what shortcuts you choose to take, and parents should be supported and not berated.

Stop being miserable, and for the love of all that’s holy, stop parking in our blinking parking spaces.

 

This is a collaborative post.