Parents, myself included, are quick to post up-to-the-minute updates of their kids' accomplishments. No matter how mundane, today's youngster achievement is THE GREATEST THING EVA! #mykidisbetterthanyours
This is the good, the bad and the ugly of parent pride.
This is the good, the bad and the ugly of parent pride.
Joey smiled at a clown today! Sarah crapped her pants at the mall! Penelope mistook cabbage for lettuce!
Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing that parents are involved in their kids' lives and find it so easy to brag about their offspring. Hell, I even started a blog to share my thoughts on parenthood. Moms used to sit around the playground and boast about their kids' latest achievements. But let's be honest, these vampire kids don't play outside anymore, and it's much easier to snap a pic and upload it for the world to see all while sitting on your couch eating Doritos.
But sometimes I find myself getting caught in a trap with social media. I see a picture of a friend's baby doing something crazy cool...and I immediately think "Anlee could do that better!" My parent competitiveness comes out. I can top that, I'm a better dad than him, my baby is smarter, my baby is more athletic, my baby is messier, yada yada yada.
Is this competitive parenting a good thing? Yes and no.
Yes: because by seeing what other parents are doing, it might inspire me to try something new with my kid. Just a little push to explore. Or maybe all I needed was a simple reminder that I should spend more time with my baby.
No: because I could be doing things just to one up the next parent. I don't really have my child's best interest in mind...I just want to show off how good of a dad I am and throw it in your face on Facebook. And if my kid doesn't match up to what your kid does, is he/she a failure? We very well could be pushing our kids too far or setting too high expectations for where they should be. "If my baby is talking by six months, that validates me as a parent and I'll be king of the mountain."
Don't do things to be better than the next guy, do things to be better. (Period)
So am I saying we should all stop posting about our kids doing great things? Not at all.
I will continue to use every piece of modern technology to proclaim Anlee's awesomeness. You can bet your last magic bean that if my baby is doing algebra before she can walk...she'll be on the Today Show because of my YouTube video with a million hits.
But where I have to stop myself is trying to outdo other parents, other babies, other viral unrealities. Instead of seeing the bar set high, I only need to look right in front of me...to focus on my family, not yours.
Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing that parents are involved in their kids' lives and find it so easy to brag about their offspring. Hell, I even started a blog to share my thoughts on parenthood. Moms used to sit around the playground and boast about their kids' latest achievements. But let's be honest, these vampire kids don't play outside anymore, and it's much easier to snap a pic and upload it for the world to see all while sitting on your couch eating Doritos.
But sometimes I find myself getting caught in a trap with social media. I see a picture of a friend's baby doing something crazy cool...and I immediately think "Anlee could do that better!" My parent competitiveness comes out. I can top that, I'm a better dad than him, my baby is smarter, my baby is more athletic, my baby is messier, yada yada yada.
Is this competitive parenting a good thing? Yes and no.
Yes: because by seeing what other parents are doing, it might inspire me to try something new with my kid. Just a little push to explore. Or maybe all I needed was a simple reminder that I should spend more time with my baby.
No: because I could be doing things just to one up the next parent. I don't really have my child's best interest in mind...I just want to show off how good of a dad I am and throw it in your face on Facebook. And if my kid doesn't match up to what your kid does, is he/she a failure? We very well could be pushing our kids too far or setting too high expectations for where they should be. "If my baby is talking by six months, that validates me as a parent and I'll be king of the mountain."
Don't do things to be better than the next guy, do things to be better. (Period)
So am I saying we should all stop posting about our kids doing great things? Not at all.
I will continue to use every piece of modern technology to proclaim Anlee's awesomeness. You can bet your last magic bean that if my baby is doing algebra before she can walk...she'll be on the Today Show because of my YouTube video with a million hits.
But where I have to stop myself is trying to outdo other parents, other babies, other viral unrealities. Instead of seeing the bar set high, I only need to look right in front of me...to focus on my family, not yours.
No comments:
Post a Comment