Be an Advocate for Your Child
Too often I see or hear of, parents following the advice of someone else when it comes to their child, whether the parent agrees or disagrees with the advice. One would think that parents would always do what they think is best for their child and they usually do. But sometimes doctors, teachers, and even other parents can cause us to second-guess our own intuitions and we wind up going down a road that our child should be no part of on the premises of someone else’s say-so.
The importance of being an advocate for your child is so important throughout their entire lives, and it should begin when they are babies. Some may think that they are being an advocate for their child and doing what’s best but again, sometimes somebody will tell us something that goes against our own instincts and we begin to think that maybe we were wrong. For instance, last month I took my three month old daughter to the doctor for a regular check-up. He asked what I was feeding her and I told him formula, and cereal. He gently reprimanded me for giving her cereal so early and told me to stop giving it to her immediately. I then told him that she was a very hungry child and that cereal once a day seems to satisfy her more than four bottles of formula in a four-hour time span does.
He looked at me and said, “You’re not going to take her off cereal, are you?” I told him no, I had no intention of doing so. While he again reminded me that he disagreed with my decision, he also said that it was my decision, as her parent, to make. He knew that giving her cereal probably wasn’t the worst thing in the world, even though he didn’t think she should be on it. He also knew that I am her parent and that I will do what I think is best.
This battle was just over cereal but there are bigger ones waiting down the road for me. From teachers telling me things that I won’t think are true or necessary, from my in-laws to pressuring me into raising my girls a certain way, I know that I will need to continually remind myself to be an advocate.
I’m not saying we should stop listening to these experts on everything. They are wonderful guides, and they are there to help us raise our child in the best possible way and environment. But when it comes to what’s best, listen to them and then listen to your gut. If you feel that something is very wrong, speak up and make sure that your children are receiving the care that they need and that you need them to have.
Written By: Kate Beswick
Technorati Tags: hungry_child, intuitions, cereal, advocate, babies, doctors, parents
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