Pixie Notes

When my son Chisolm was born, my cousin gave me her baby wipe warmer. It was the most shockingly indulgent piece of equipment I had ever seen. Who had conceived of this ridiculous contraption? It did not jibe with my "life is tough and wipes are cold" philosophy and lasted less than 2 weeks on my changing table. I had a hard enough time keeping enough diaper wipes in the house let alone having to add "reload the warmer" to my ever growing to-do list.

I'm a cloth diaper baby from the olden days, before they were a political/environmental statement and just what every baby wore. Goodness knows what my mother used as a wipe but I'm pretty sure it wasn't properly pH balanced with natural emollients and a temp of 98.6.  Miraculously, I survived and have lived to tell the tale with no visible physical or emotional scars.

Now you may be chuckling or you may be running to the phone to notify Child Protective Services but whatever your reaction, it encapsulates the dilemna of modern day parents. How do we cut through the hype? How do we deal with the messages bombarding us on a daily basis that slowly undermine our confidence in our ability to care for and raise our children?

If you feel like you're swimming against the tide in an ever increasingly hysterical ocean of parents. If you feel like The Worst Parent Ever (which you cannot possibly be because I was given this title last year by my 12 year old) because you aren't buying all of the "stuff" and buying into all of the hoopla, please read Pamela Paul's insightful book, Parenting Inc. With a great deal of humor and common sense Ms. Paul reminds us that aside from a full tummy, a dry diaper, some basic equipment (that doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg), and loving interaction with parents and caregivers, babies require little else to grow and thrive.

This should be required reading for all parents and parents-to-be. You can purchase a copy at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805082492/sternjuststern

Enjoy,

Leda 

 http://www.pamelapaul.com/books.html