MidwestMeg's Profile

I don’t buy the argument either- She says” Our obsession with parenting is an avoidance strategy. It allows us to substitute our own small world for the world as a whole. But the entire planet is a child's home, and other adults are also mothers and fathers. We cannot separate our children from the ills that affect everyone, however hard we try. Aspiring to be perfect parents seems like a pathetic attempt to control what we can while ignoring problems that seem beyond our reach.”

Sounds to me like cop-out and a justification for her own failings or her own insecurities about not wanting to engage in certain activities that might be beneficial for kids. My husband and I work full time and our combined income has been less than 100,000 for the last couple challenging years. I still managed to nurse for more than 10 months, we never used formula, we made our own baby food and we use biodegradable diapers that just happen to work very very well and aren’t too much more expensive than regular disposables. We recycle almost everything and only take the actual TRASH to the curb every couple of weeks when we have a full bag. We compost and grow our own tomatoes, squash, eggplant etc. I shop at Trader Joes and avoid things like dyes and added preservatives, and meat hormones for both myself (pregnant again) and my son. It isn’t the easiest way to parent but it is THAT hard either and I don’t do it to shut out all the bad thoughts… I do it because I think it will give the little boy I love the best shot at being healthy and happy- and you know what? He is! He is Happy and healthy and brilliant and a joy to be around. Does he get sick? Sure he does- and does he behave perfectly and recite the declaration of independence- no.. but he sleeps well, fights infection well and doesn’t have allergies and is a beautiful kid. I think doing my best for him makes me happy because even though I know things might be easier for me if I didn’t care so much about the little things—but I do care and that isn’t a problem for me- Sounds like it is a problem for this author…

Check out Perennial plate at http://theperennialplate.com/
It is a free web show about eating locally for a year in the midwest. It is pretty cool.