Are you a judgmental parent? Or non-parent?

While perusing the internet I found a story that was quite appealing to me. It talked about the author's judgments of parents during her pre-baby days. At the end of the article she does say how she is much less judgmental now than she was 4 years ago; however, now she has different judgments she makes. I think we all do this. We love to size up other parents and try to figure out how we are the better parent. How our kids are just a little smarter. Didn't you know that all your friend's kids rolled, stood, walked, and talked before everyone else's? It's true, we live in a world full of judging one another...and one another's children. People claim that the key to understanding one another is easy, just "walk a mile in my shoes."  However, that is never going to be possible. Why, you ask? Because everyone has different shoes. Some are bigger or smaller. Some are made for winter walking while others are made for walking along the beach. Some shoes are laced up and fit snug, and others do not. My friends have cute little feet that fit into cute little heals...I have xtra wide feet that will never fit or look cute in my friends shoes...as much as I'd love a cute little pair of lime green heels to go with a new dress I just bought...but that is not the point. Everyone has different feet. We cannot walk a mile in another's shoes in order to see what their life is like. We can't judge others and act as though the grass on our side is actually the greener side. Last time I checked, it still has to be mowed.  I can continue writing my thoughts here, but the author of "Apologies To The Parents I Judged Four Years Ago," Kara Gebhart Uhl, just says it best...so why repeat it!

And, here are my apologies to the parents I used to judge and "gasp" probably, at times, still do. I have more to judge now as a diabetes parent...it is very easy to judge the way other T1 parents manage their kids diabetes. However, I do believe, like Mrs. Uhl, that most parents are doing the best job they can with what they are given. We love our kids. And, more importantly, our kids know we love them. It's good to know I'm not alone out there, swimming in a judgmental shark tank full of parents waiting to attack my shoes. So, whether you have kids or not, lets work on the judgments we direct to other people. We can never know their whole story and shouldn't try to pick apart why or why not they do certain things. Click the name of the article to be directed to the article!