Reply #81: I like Bill Maher. [View All]

[demgurl]

I am a parent and I totally agree with him! I think one of the things that has happened is that parents have become softer but I also think that it has become harder for parents to parent because we have read so many things about store workers calling the authorities on parents, that is it scary. I do not want to be arrested and that does go through my mind when I am disciplining my child in public.

My mother-in-law once called our pediatrician because she thought I might still be taking the drugs prescribed to me when I was pregnant. She told the doctor that, at three months, all my son did was eat and sleep and she felt I was passing on drugs through my breast milk! She never once talked to my husband or myself about this and she only had seen our son twice at that point!!!! My doctor talked to me about it and saw that everything was OK and my mother-in-law was full of it. Thank goodness! But I was very upset and when I confronted her I explained that under the law the doctor was now compelled to report this to Social Services and they could even take our son away while they investigate her wild accusations. My mother-in-law said she did not care and she would do it again in a heartbeat!

So now we have to keep a lot of things secret. We are training our youngest to go potty and I have had the doctor approve one of the methods I am using. The doctor said he would do no less and fully approves. My husband and I talked and we are keeping our method from his Mom because we do not want her to go overboard and call the doctor or the authorities again. I live in constant fear of this happening.

Society has really taken away some of the power of parents to be a parent. I will never be able to even raise my voice a little without worrying who is watching and who will report what! Meanwhile, I do use a stern voice and I will not let my children run wild. I have found their currency (what they value most) and when I threaten to take things away, they fall in line.

I am not saying all wild children are due to parents worrying what will happen to them if they spank their child, but there is a percentage. Then there are parents who just are ignorant and let their kids run wild.

I saw Bill when he did this and I thought it was very funny and very true. Maybe it lost something being put to paper and not being able to hear the intonation? He said it very light heartedly and not as a rant or in anger.