My Shiny Happy Life

One of the reoccurring themes in this blog is that parents are hard on themselves and each other. This saddens and disappoints me. I’ve done it. We have all done it. Parenting is already hard enough. Why are we doing this? As a step in the opposite direction, I have created a Parent Pact–thinking maybe we can agree to make things easier on ourselves and each other.

1. I promise to love my child unconditionally.
2. I promise to parent to the best of my abilities.
3. I promise not to judge other parents and their approach to raising their kids (as long as their kids are not in danger).
4. I promise to think long and hard before asking any seemingly innocent questions about another person’s parenting, pregnancy or children.
5. I promise to give an empathetic look rather than an evil eye when I see a mom losing her temper at the grocery store.
6. I promise to refrain from judging other children. I realize that I don’t know their entire story and they most likely need help rather than a cold shoulder or judgmental stare.
7. I promise to do my best to teach my child to be kind and empathetic. To understand gratitude.
8. I promise to correct my child when they are being a jerk.
9. I promise to provide my child with rules, but also provide them with the freedom to explore boundaries and learn consequences.
10. I promise to observe vigilantly. My children and other children. To ensure that they are safe from the dangerous world we live in.
11. I promise to try to catch a child if he falls near me at a park or help him to the edge of the pool if he gets in too deep or find his parents if he gets lost in a store. I promise to do this without hesitation. Because this is the right thing to do. And because it takes a village.
12. I promise not to let any other parent’s help go unnoticed. I know and understand the value of a thank you.
13. I promise to listen intently when other parents tell me their concerns. I promise to lend a sympathetic ear and I promise to only provide advice when it is appropriate.
14. I promise to not to spoil any imaginary figures (Santa, tooth fairy, Easter bunny, etc.) for other children. I realize that these are unspoken lies that all parents agree upon. And I promise to do my best to ensure that my children don’t spoil these imaginary figures for other children once they discover the truth.
15. I promise not to buy your child obnoxiously loud  and/or large toys.
16. I promise not to feed your child absurd amounts of sugar without providing an outlet to burn it off.
17. I promise to respect my children’s teachers. I understand the impact that they have on my child and the tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility that they have on their shoulders.
18. I promise to parent my children outside of the classroom so that my children’s teachers can focus on educating them.
19. I promise to do my best to lead by example. To practice gratitude and empathy and self love.
20. I promise to be gentler with myself and my parenting abilities because I know that I love my child unconditionally.