There’s No Right Way to Be a Good Parent

 

After two-and-a-half years of being a parent, I’ve learned there are a million right ways to be a parent and very, very few wrong ways.

While this revelation may be obvious to some, it was so astonishing to me that it was like getting the wind knocked out of my lungs. It is much harder to screw up and damage your child than you think it is, and it is much easier to let your children know they are loved and secure and safe than you ever imagined.

Natural birth? Your baby will be fine.

Give birth under the influence of every legal drug the doctor can throw at you? Your baby will be fine.

Formula feed? Your baby will be fine.

Breast-feed until age five? Your baby will be fine.

Cry-it-out from six weeks old? Your baby will be fine.

Cosleep until they move out? Your baby will be fine.

Stay at home parent? Your baby will be fine.

Full-time daycare? Your baby will be fine.

Single parent? Your baby will be fine.

Same-sex partners? Your baby will be fine.

Having a child in your forties? Your baby will be fine.

Having a child in your teenage years? Your baby will be fine.

Do you make all of your own baby food and only buy organic produce? Your baby will be fine.

Does your child only eat goldfish crackers?  I repeat, your baby will be fine.

If you love your children and want the best for them, and ensure they are fed, clothed, and moderately clean, you’re doing just fine. Actually, you’re doing great. Please let this realization hit you smack in the face like a surprise wave at the beach. Realize that so many different roads are the right roads toward creating a happy, healthy, empathetic human being.

There is no one way to be an amazing parent. If anything, it takes a lot more work to be a really bad one.

You are doing just fine. No matter what your family looks like, what your kitchen looks like, or what your baby’s clothes look like, you really are doing OK. Your children are going to turn out great, and—spoiler alert—you are going to turn out great, too.