Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Parent Shaming is non-issue!


Good Morning America (GMA) is a nationally televised network program that most if not all Americans are familiar with.  Yesterday the program featured an interview with a woman who works for Yahoo Parenting.  You can find the report here:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/moms-push-shame-parenting-movement-34254340

The report featured the results of a survey on Yahoo about how parents are feeling judged by others and are fighting back with the hashtag #noshameparenting.  The report itself featured a graphic that 50% of parents spank their children.  This whole segment made my blood BOIL!!!  And here is why...the report focused on parents who feel victimized by the perceptions of other parents.  The report and interview conveyed that we all are too judgmental about other parents and how they are parenting.  Poor mommy and daddy are feeling judged for the job they are doing when they are out in public with their kids who have no manners or our out of control.  Whine, whine and more whine! There is a crucial piece missing from this report.  How are their kids fairing?  How are the kids who grow up in families who believe spanking is a wonderful parenting method?  How are the kids who grow up in families where the parents are bothered by other's perceptions of them?  Is it beneficial to your family to play the victim?

Shame on GMA for running such a poorly thought out segment that benefits NO ONE!  Why can't a powerful network that is watched by millions feature a segment that empowers parents with solid parenting advice.  Why can't they feature a roundtable of experts who explain the most effective parenting techniques and the research that shows spanking your children is using fear and violence to control their behavior and results in more aggressive children.  Instead, they feature a ridiculous survey on the "hurt feelings" of parents, as a way to advertise one of their sitcoms and a method to direct people to Yahoo Parenting.

Parents who feel shame about the job they are doing as parents might have some work to do.  Why don't we all strive to be the best parents we can be--for the benefit of our children and their future.
facebook.com/SplashParentingPrinciples

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