Thursday 30 March 2017

The Perfect Mum

Who is she? What does she look like? Is she the perfectly coiffed mum in nine-inch heels wearing a bucket of makeup? Surely not; she's spent too long getting herself ready and forgot to spend time with her child. 
It must be the mum who has just dropped off her child wearing pyjamas and forgot to brush her hair. Oh my no! She has spent too much time with her child and has neglected herself!
Hmm, what about the one whose child is screaming in the grocery store? Clearly, she's set no boundaries, and the child is probably ruling her. 
I've got it! The perfect mum must be the one whose child is walking a strict arms-length away and is too afraid to breathe without permission. Clearly there are some underlining issues there. 
Do her kids eat junk food? Daily? Occasionally? They must not have been breastfed. No way would a child who was breastfed be seen anywhere near a hot dog or heaven forbid candy!
Then again if they were breastfed, did mum look deeply into the soul of her child and send out love vibes? Or was she too busy catching up on her latest soap on Netflix? (That reminds me, what's new on Netflix?) 
Who is the perfect mum? What is perfect? Mums judge each other. Teachers judge mothers. For goodness sakes, even the neighbourhood dog judges mothers.
How do you decide how to be the perfect mum? What seems right for you may be wrong for another. This is where culture, religion, origin plays a big role. All these factors affect your day-to-date life and relationship with your children. More importantly, as we travel, we see, we learn, and we experience the differences. We become a mix. We even marry from outside our faith, culture, race and country.
How do we decide which culture, religion, country, etc., produces the best mum? Which values are the best? Philosophers, psychologists and more have spent their lives studying this subject and are still conflicted in their opinions. 
For me the answer is love. Love conquers all!
Take each day as it comes and kiss your child every day.

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