The Great Debate

It's Wednesday and I am over this week already. I have been over it since Sunday night when I realized that it was time to go back to work.

I do have a three day weekend because of Emery's 1st birthday. It is her 1yr checkup with what I am sure is a few shots. I always hate the well baby appointments. It breaks my heart to watch my kids poked with a needle. Of course there isn't ever just one shot, it is usually 3 or more. I do this to keep my kids safe and protected. I am a member of a debate forum and this topic comes up often, to vaccinate or not. I of course vaccinate my kids and cannot understand woman who don't. They always say their choice was an informed one and they believe they are doing what is in the best interest of their child. BUT.. a big fat HOWEVER, they don't consider how their choice could potentially affect the many other children who are too young to vaccinate etc... This is always the main topic of the debate. Woman who choose not vaccinate are risking other childrens lives if their child were to ever get, say, smallpox. I completely agree and would not want that guilt on my shoulders if I didn't vaccinate. So, as hard as it is to watch my kids get poked with a needle, I know that I am doing the right thing for my child.

And so this begins my theme for todays post. The many debates that are out there. I am going to hit a few and give my opinion of them. First, a little prenote. I am a very lax person and don't usually care what other people do with their kids and how they choose to raise them. It is none of my business and I would prefer if they stayed out of mine too. I do find that their are so many woman now that get on this soap box and feel superior to other woman who don't choose or can't do what they think is the "RIGHT" way to raise their child. It is rather annoying and I guess I just wish more woman were like me. :) I think that as long as your child is healthy, happy and well-behaved, whatever you choose to do to get them that way, is your choice and noone else's.

1. Breastfeeding/Bottle Feeding: This is a huge debate, ALWAYS. I of course think that breastfeeding is the best way to go for your children. It is the most nutritious and obviously cheaper. When I had my son, he weighed in at 9lbs 2oz. I desperately wanted to breastfeed him. I did well in the hospital with little difficulty in the latching process. I did have a lactation nurse who stopped by often and would gather up my breast and always manage to get my son latched. There was a technique and she was good at it. In fact, she made it look freaking easy. No problem right, I can easily do this at home. We get home and my son starts crying because he is hungry. So, I gather up my breast, tickle under his chin and attempt to shove it in his mouth. No luck! After about ten attempts and a screaming son, I start crying. I felt like a failure and didn't understand why I couldn't get this "technique" down. It isn't easy when you are so stressed about it either. I know that he could feel me tense up and that only made it more difficult. So, I tried to just let him go hungry and if he got hungry enough, he would latch. No Luck! After 2 weeks of pumping and trying to breast feed, I gave up. I then had my daughter and I tried too with the same results. Maybe I gave up too quickly, maybe I am not cut out for it. What bothers me is the woman who have great luck and think they are superior. Always a fun debate.

2. Spanking/No-Spanking- Maybe I am old school and a tad bit conservative but I do think that spanking is important when parenting younger children. I believe there is a huge difference between spanking and abuse. When a child is young and communication/language skills are still developing, it is harder to get your point across with danger etc.. When children are older and better able to communicate you can easily sit them down and talk with them about the behavior and put them on restriction or ground them. Because it is more difficult to communicate with younger children a spanking is necessary to prevent accidents, injury, and bad behavior. The debate stems from most people believing that having a talk with your child about their behavior and maybe a time-out should do the trick. I don't think that helps with a child between the ages of 1-6. Spanking will lessen as the children get older and your technique changes. Restriction and grounding becomes a much better form of punishement for children ages 6-18.

So, there are a few debates that I have come across and my views regarding them. I will do a great debate day every wednesday on my blog from now on. Hope you enjoy and I look forward to any comments that are left. Whether you agree with my opinions or not, I love to hear both sides!