I'm told I'm "too soft". I let DS play with my things. They're my things, so who cares but me? My mother will tell him off though. I don't let DS run onto a road, I don't let him eat things that upset his tum (unlike my mother, who classes them as a treat for him, or my MiL who tells me that it's harmless as she watches DS put horsechestnuts in his mouth then DS is vomitting all night), I don't let him get hurt and expect him to respect me and do as I tell him.

To that end, I am consistant and respect the fact he has needs too. That's not soft. That's my parenting. But it's very hard some days because I didn't have that sort of parenting, nor did DH. We're learning, but we do tell DS that we're all learning together when the three of us are screaming at each other! (Usually because I need to cook dinner for the three of us, nearly fall over DS who DH has let wander into the kitchen again and then it all kicks off... not that this is a regular thing LOL.)

I'm expecting a lot more flack very soon. And I intend to laugh it off. It doesn't make other parenting wrong, it just makes it wrong for me. And aside from DH, DS and me, who really should care how I parent DS?

I admit to going out of my way not to say the same things or do the same things as my parents. But they failed me when I needed them so that's not surprising. If it was something good that they did, I'll do it. But there are very few examples of behaviour I want to copy.