Are You Out of Your Ever-Lovin' Mind!?!?

I subscribed to the Daily Babble and receive e-mails each day when a new "babble" is up.  Today, there was an article called Bad Parent: Mother's Little Helper.  I read it and was more than a little shocked.

As any parent - stay at home or working outside the home - will tell you, it is really, REALLY difficult to raise a child.  As often as they are cute and fun, they are whiny and troublesome and sometimes it takes every ounce of energy that you have to get through the day.  And, there are times when I think, "Jeez, I need a drink!" when I'm taking care of them.  But, I don't do it.  I wait until they are asleep.

That being said, the article talks about how the author takes a hit of pot every once in a while.  And, I swear that I tried to be open minded and sympathetic but I just couldn't.  I tried not to pass judgment on the author because I'm sure that her son is just as strong willed and demanding as my sons.  In the end, it wasn't the fact that she was smoking pot to deal with her issues with childrearing.

In the end, the issue that I had with her was that she didn't seem to have any other coping mechanisms than depending on pot.  I doubt that her challenges are any different than any other parent and what she does, I believe, is a cop out.  Part of being a parent requires you to be an adult - to be responsible.  Yes, I'm sure that her child is none the wiser when she comes back relaxed.  But, one of these days I believe that her son will find out why mom's so mellow.

Kids learn from watching parents, teachers, and other kids and I think that coping in this way is a terribly bad example.  Do I think that we should shelter our children from every "bad" (or labeled bad) thing in the world?  Nope.  I just think that we should do our best to set a good example and I think that teaching them how to cope with stresses whether it be something that they cannot have or loud, annoying people is our responsibility.  To wish to escape it is one thing; to actually do something irresponsible to escape it is tragic.

Comments

[michelle]

that's crazy!
my way of coping is to go to the kitchen and pop a cookie (or anything else that contains chocolate!) in my mouth :)

[carrie]

i have nothing against pot as compared to alcohol. both nice drugs in moderation, that many people happen to have problems with.

i don't have a problem drinking in front of my children; in fact i don't want to add mystique to it by hiding it. but if i was sneaking into another room for a quick shot of Goldschlager several times a day? yeah, that's a rehab-worthy problem there.

[aida]

Woah!! And I felt bad taking my daughter to my MIL or SIL so I can have an afternoon of "me time" when I need to cope!