Being All I Can Be

I had a parenting discussion with a cousin's wife today, and it has inspired me to finally sit down and write you.  As I am always interested in how other people choose to parent and in the similarities and differences to my choices, this is a great topic to get me started writing for you again.

Before you ask, "Which cousin?", understand that I have about a billion of them, so only people very close to me or with outstanding powers of deduction can keep them straight.  Luckily, many of them are of child-bearing years, so I have a lot of fuel for my intellectual fire.  I'm a pretty competitive person, and the streak did not miss my mothering side, so I'm constantly comparing my kid to theirs and finding ways to feel superior.  (Oh, please!  Everyone does it; I'm just honest about it).

Growing up, I was a soda drinking, fried-food eating, television watching McDonald's fiend.  BUT, we were always outside playing, so I only struggled with my weight rather than being overcome with obesity.  (Of course, the constant sun would explain the extraordinarily large spot of carcinoma the plastic surgeon cut out of my face a few years ago... but that's another story).  My point is that - other than some weight issues - I was a moderately healthy, smart, bubbly kid.

I don't want my son to grow up with the same unhealthy attitudes toward food that I still struggle with, so I'm starting now (he's a year and a half) to shape his eating habits.  I limit the sugar, the frieds, the fats and as much as the carbs as I can.  He gets whole grains and a ton of fruit and no condiments aka ketchup, mayo, or BBQ sauce.  He doesn't yet know what he is missing, and I'm hoping that he's learning food tastes good without all the unhealthy additions.

I've been criticized as mean and too strict, but I don't see discipline as a bad word.  Setting boundaries now will help him not only understand limits but know which rules are meant to be broken... and which are to be followed.  He's a happy, healthy baby (he will always be my baby) that knows what "no" means and is pretty well behaved for his age group.  Even the pediatrician expressed happy surprise at how well he responded to her in his last checkup.  We can go to restaurants and other public places with a minimum of outbursts without the need for a portable DVD player to play as babysitter.  How many other parents of toddlers can say that?

I'm not a perfect know-it-all; not by any means.  I'm always open to another point of view and have actually picked up pointers from parents that make many decisions I don't agree with.  I want to grow as a parent and learn to be the best mom I can be.  The stakes are too high to do any different.