Parenting Style

Have you seen this gem from Boston Magazine?

Welcome to the Age of Overparenting: How I Let my Kids be Kids

Mostly, I loved the little slideshow of 50s cartoon parents in the midst of of a stereotype and I enjoyed finding myself somewhere in between the iParent and the Type A+ Mom (while, of course, feeling horribly guilty about not being able to be OR escape the All Organic Mom.)  Unfortunately, overparenting is also something that keeps me up at night.

I think about it as I hover over her at the playground (can you see this is where all my angst is coming from lately?)  I know she needs catching but I also worry that I won’t know when the moment is to stop catching.  I don’t want to sit on the bench, but I don’t want to hover over her.  Sort of like, I want her to be able to scrape a knee (if you can, don’t even think about cement and your baby’s delicate skin.  I quake with fear.) but I don’t want her to break her neck.

I think about it every time I say “good job.” This article mentions it but so do many others: could telling her good job over and over cause her to give up to early later in life? Undervalue hard work?  Take away the value of praise and reward? Be a disincentive?  But, seeing her face light up when I tell her she’s done a good job for finding her shoes is totally worth it.  AND she’s not even a year and a half so, really, isn’t it too soon to be worried about Good Job?

It occurs to me that overparenting is as much of a worry as worrying about parenting right.  So, in all, you could be a bad parent anyway you spin it.  On the other hand, the fact that she’s clothed, healthy and clean (mostly) means I must be doing something right.

This ramble in memory of the defunct Mompetition.