I got to thinking in the shower while I pulled out handfuls of hair (a postpartum glory) that it might be nice to have a blog. A blog, where I could post about babies and me and the new world I'm experiencing being a stay at home mom. There is a different language, a different first impression, and a wholly different age group with which I'm finding myself in direct contact. I've gone from early twenties, soul-searching gal to... a baby wearing spit-up enthusiast.
Believe me, this transformation took time (the standard 40 weeks) and now that I'm here my eyes are open to this baby world--a world I never noticed before: I'm newly arrived to this target audience. But now that I'm here and as tuned in as I can be, I am starting to understand that this tender time is taken for granted. I keep hearing "Cherish this! Oh... they grow up so fast". And I wonder...what were these people doing while their children were young? Were they frustrated with the neediness of their little ones? Did they find themselves guiltily wishing "oh, once they're a little older it won't be so hard..." What I'm really wanting to address is the reality of convenience parenting and the effect it is having on our American society.
If you've ever had to enter a Babies R Us, or attend a baby shower you will find yourself overwhelmed by the "necessities" deemed, well, necessary for raising a child. Pacifiers, strollers, bouncing chairs, vibrating saucers, plastic foam props, polyester bunnies that dangle and tangle...everything you need to distract your baby while you continue living your life. A crib that sings your baby to sleep for you--perfect. Soothing vibrations that replace human contact or swings that jet set your baby into a life of isolation and forced independence...
I'm kind of exaggerating, but I'm also not really exaggerating. I suppose its how you look at it... We have been shown that its okay to allow your baby to be alone, and that in fact its good for them. They are trapped in these plastic cages and containers from birth, lulling them into a buzzed slumber. Ultimately, we're all doing the best we can, right? We as parents are doing the best we can with the resources available etc etc... A book I read on attachment parenting posed this question: do you want your child to look to inanimate objects for comfort, or to people?
This first post isn't supposed to be high and mighty.... I am just really feeling how industry and money men and business is turning what is supposed to be a slow, baby focused and led experience into a fast paced, plastic packed, convenience for the sake of a hands free life...
I don't want to look at other women's babies ten or twenty years from now and wish that I had, had more time with my own children. I don't want to regale them with warnings of how fleeting the experience is... I love my son. I love where he is TODAY.
No comments:
Post a Comment