Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there. Just in case you haven't done anything for your mother on this special day, you can go to mothersday.com, which I just found because I typed "mothersday.com" into my browser, and voila! guess what popped up. I'm the kind of person who can do this, because my Mom encouraged me to be curious. I remember many trips to the library as a kid. I don't have kids, but one of my brothers has three, and my sister has two, with one on the way, so I have a much better idea of what it takes to raise kids than I did when I actually was one. So I am much more appreciative of what it takes to take kids to the library on a regular basis. Thanks Mom!

The WaPo has a post today with a slightly unusual take on Mother's Day: Lenore Skenazy slams what she calls the "parenting-industrial complex." Marketers are out of control, according to Ms. Skenazy, pitching parents with products to solve problems that they don't even know they have. This, of course, is exactly what lots of companies do in all kinds of areas of life, but it's particularly pernicious for new parents, because they are particularly nervous. New parents in particular have little if any experience raising kids, so they are vulnerable to all kinds of marketing-induced anxieties. Enough! Skenazy quotes the godfather of parenting advice, Dr. Spock:

"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do."

Your baby is a little person. You are a big person. You are both people. How would you want to be treated if you were a little person? Sometimes you do what you would want someone to do to you. Sometimes you do the exact opposite.

But the best reason to trust yourself when raising your child is that this is the best possible lesson to impart to your child. If you pay too much attention to marketing, you're setting the ultimate bad example.

When all else fails, your own mother is probably a much better - and cheaper - source of wisdom. Mine certainly is.