Lately, it seems like there have been a ton of stories about parents putting their life on the line to save their kids. And though that might seem like that's what any good mom or dad would do, given that we've also seen our fair share of horrible parenting lately, it's pretty refreshing and inspiring to see that some people actually do still have their priorities in order.
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Thanks in part to first lady Michelle Obama's campaign to fight childhood obesity, the issue that seems to be plaguing children in the United States has moved to the forefront of the consciences of many Americans. Not only is it glaringly obvious that a huge population of our children are surviving on less than nutritious diets, but their sedentary ways are wreaking havoc on their chances of growing into healthy, fit adults.
There are so many things about my life and myself that I have to thank my mom for. I'm sure we all do. Today, as I think about Mother's Day coming up, I'm thankful for her strength and her support, which continues even through today as she's helping me raise my little guy, Sebastian, watching him while my husband and I are at work. I could not ask for a better, more loving caregiver.
But I realized that what I am most thankful to my mom for is for having the courage to rip me away from everything I knew when I was just 7 years old, tearing me away from friends, family, my awesome abuelos, my school, my life, just so we could come to a new place to--as she told me--"have a better life." Sound strange right? It did to me too when I was 7 and completely happy with my kid life. But let me explain.
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It was just March when Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, hit bookstores and has been making headlines ever since. Sandberg basically suggests that women should have faith in themselves and stick to their career goals whether they choose to have a family or not--that it is in fact possible to have the best of both worlds. Catherine Rampell of the New York Times, however, thinks that men also need to start leaning in--at home that is.
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Procter & Gamble (P&G) hosted a "Thank you, mom" panel to discuss the ever changing roles of parenting in today's society. One of P&G's panelists was MamásLatinas co-founder Lucia Ballas-Traynor who, along with the other speakers, expressed their thoughts on parenting in their respective households.
But Lucia brought to light the one thing the majority of moms have in common: the need to be in touch with their culture.
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About a year ago, I was reading a blog post and the writer mentioned that she used elimination communication (EC) with her baby, rather than diapers, and I was both intrigued and mystified. EC is basically letting your baby go diaper-free and watching his cues in order to predict when he needs to urinate or defecate. I had mostly forgotten about ECing until this morning, when I read that it's becoming a trend among attachment parenting New Yorkers. Now, I'm all about getting back to basics when it comes to parenting--I adore baby wearing, breastfeeding, and homemade baby food--but I'd venture to say that relying on an infant's ability to communicate when they need to use the bathroom is crossing the boundary from crunchy to extreme ... or perhaps these parents are already well past that boundary.
Today, the CDC announced that tons of us moms here in the U.S. feed our babies solid food way too early. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended babies avoid solids until they are at least 6 months old, as do most doctors, nutritionists, the list goes on and on. I mean, giving our babies solid food before their little bodies are ready at 6 months is not okay and can cause so many bad things later on...
Right? Riiiiiigggggght, try telling my mom, my suegra--or any abuela for that matter!--that babies shouldn't be eating caldo de pollo at 3 months of age and let me know how that goes for ya'! It was basically impossible for me to keep solids out of my baby's mouth until he was 6 months old and I'm sure for many of you mamás out there can relate.
Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow reportedly has her 8-year-old daughter, Apple and 6-year-old son, Moses on a low-carb and gluten-free diet. Unless you're living under a rock, you know that it's important to make sure your children are well nourished during their growing years ... but I guess this doesn't apply to the "self-help guru" and creator of food and lifestyle blog, GOOP.
Paltrow writes in her latest cookbook It's All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes That Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great, about the diet her family is on which stays away from carbohydrates, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, sugar, coffee, alcohol, shellfish, wheat, meat and processed foods. She also urges other parents to do the same, but this is not sitting well with medical professionals. Um, is it just me or is this just ABSURD? All the mamás Latinas I know would CRINGE at the thought of not feeding our kids well!
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As moms--especially new moms--we are often quite hard on ourselves. But every once in awhile, it's worth taking a few minutes to reflect on what you know you're doing right, rather than what you think you might be doing wrong. I'm betting that you're all a bunch of incredible mamás Latinas. Here are a few reasons why:
It looks like we're really on our way to recognizing the power of family--a modern family, that is. A judge in Florida has approved that a 22-month-old baby girl will have all three of her parents on her birth certificate, a married lesbian couple and a gay man. This is all after a two-year paternity battle between the couple and their friend who donated his sperm but then wanted a larger role in the baby girl's life.
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