Facebook “Friends”

To my dear Facebook friend who posts articles about children`s healthcare, and writes blanket and judgmental status updates against women:

–          Giving birth in the hospital
–          Having a C-Section
–          Feeding children formula
–          Giving babies rice cereal,
and/or,
–          Immunizing their children.

Please stop.

You know what?  I only feed my child organic dairy products. The meat my child eats is from a local farmer that does not use growth hormones. My child prays to a feminist God. He plays with eco-conscious toys. We eat wild fish twice per week. I have my own vegetable garden.

And yes – I believe these choices are the best for my family, but that does not give me the right to preach to others on how they should be raising theirs.

I understand that we are all on our own journey. I understand that not everyone has the luxury (or desire) to stay home, allowing them time to tend to a garden. I understand that not everyone has access to meat from an organic butcher shop. Most people I know struggle to make ends meet, and at the end of a long day, a decent meal on the table is a hard earned accomplishment.

And let`s face it, some people just like Kraft dinner.

So, who am I to post daily articles on my Facebook page, with judgmental statements on the dangers of the food my friends eat?

I have no right to do so, and neither do you.

Dear Facebook friend, this is why you piss me off…

Despite my desire to be the `perfect parent`, I did all of the things listed above. I had a C section in hospital without a mid-wife (gasp!). My child was bottle fed, he ate rice cereal, and he is vaccinated.  Here is my truth – If we had not been in hospital at his birth, we would not have had instant access to the neo-natal specialist whom both saved my child`s life and prevented brain damage. My reality is that he needed to be a formula and cereal fed baby during a difficult year of medical interventions.

My reality is that new motherhood, for me, was very hard.

Yet, despite all that my son and I have endured and accomplished, you rub my nose in my ‘shortcomings’ daily with your judgments and warnings against sterile hospital births, the dangers of formula, the laziness of mothers who don`t successfully breast feed, and the constant stats supporting the claims that my child will surely face a diabetes diagnosis by the age of 10 due to the three months of rice cereal he endured.

I know that you are a sweet, well intentioned friend;

but this is what I really want to say to you…

I am happy for you to have the privilege of being so naive  I want you to be grateful you had the choice to make those decisions for yourself and your baby.  I want you to be humble that your body, and I quote “ did what it was intended to do` at birth. I want you to be thankful you had the choice not to vaccinate, but please – for the love of god,

kindly, shut, the fuck, up.