Mommy Drive by's

I was walking outside with Cass the other day near the post office. It was a cold winter day here in MA and the wind was blowing furiously. A post man walking outside stopped & reached over toward Cass, who was walking a little bit ahead of me & screwing around in the snow. He reached her jacket and started to pull on the hood. I was there in a nanosecond saying firmly "Hey!! Don't touch her." He looked sorry enough as he quickly moved his hand away (which was good cuz I was planning on breaking his arm if he didn't), then said "Well, she should be wearing a hat or her hood. It's too cold out here for her!!"
I replied "Thank you for your concern, but keep your hands off my daughter & step away please." I was moving between Cass & the man.
"Oh I'm so sorry. I meant no harm. I was just trying to get her hood up."
"That's fine. Goodbye."

So I got to reading some funny Mom blogs and found that I'm not alone in this phenomenon of drive by parenting. I get flack from other moms who think Cass going down for a nap from 2-5 is somehow harming her by making her stay up so long in morning. I get crap because I let her go and try things on her own, I let her explore without hovering.
"Aren't you worried she'll get hurt or run off?" I get asked, when I let her climb the stairs at the church playgroup or run around in circles at the park.

I let my daughter eat fast food chicken nuggets several times a week, because she eats them with enthusiasm. Cass watched more TV than she should, but she is just used to having it on in the background because that's just how we do it around here. I don't watch Buffy (as I SO want to) in front of her...it's all about PBS or NickJr around here. But, I admit it! I park her cranky ass in front of the Carebear movie when she's jumping on my last nerve & I'm trying to cook the dinner that she's so cranky about. She's had goldfish crackers for lunch & dinner, because it was all she would eat and she had knocked the fight right out of me.

Breastfeed your kid until they are 4 for all I care, just don't give me shit for letting Cass wean herself at 10 months. Cuddle your children in the night all you want, just don't give me shit for having sexual relations with my hubby in our own bed while Cass sleeps peacefully in her own crib...all through the night I might add.

I am blessed with a wonderful healthy child who is independent and precocious and the perfect combination of her father & I. If you see blatant child abuse, by all means report it to the authorities immediately. Many years ago I saw a woman slap her child pretty hard at the grocery store & yell at her to stop crying. I reported it to security & was horrified, thinking to myself 'how could that happen?" Now that I have a child myself I know exactly how it could happen...and I choose not to beat my child. It's the right choice.

On the other side of the coin, mother's each make their own choices and are all doing the best they can to keep on keeping on. A kid who should be wearing mittens will eventually let his mother know his hands are cold. Until then, let him play in the snow quietly and let the mother rest in peace.