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8 Things You’re Over-Thinking As A Parent

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worried mom with two kidsThere is a lot of pressure on parents to do everything right. Just head on over to any Facebook parenting page and ask a question about car seat safety to see what I mean. I swear if I hear the phrase “Know better, do better” one more time my head is going to explode. But there are plenty of things that parents over-think. Kids are way more resilient than we give them credit for, so a lot of the things we panic about just isn’t that important in the long run. Of course, if you have concerns you should consult your pediatrician, but the vast majority of the time they will tell you what you’re worried about is normal/a phase/not big deal etc. Things like:

7. Picky Eaters

As the mom of a bevy of picky eaters, I understand this concern all too well. I will say to you what my 25-year-plus veteran pediatrician said to me all three times I brought this up to him; unless there is an underlying medical condition, they won’t starve. It’s perfectly normal for a kid to go through weird eating phases. My oldest had a “only eat brown foods” phase, and I literally have to sneak vegetables into my middle child’s food. It’s normal, and it will pass.

6. Buying Organic Everything

I get the desire to feed your family the best foods possible, but buying 100% organic is neither feasible nor necessary. According to this handy, dandy list there are about 12 foods that you should at least attempt to go organic for, but even if you can’t, as long as you’re buying a variety of food and aren’t living off fast food and frozen pizza, you should be A-okay.

5. Too Much Screen Time

Obviously I’m not advocating using your iPhone or the T.V. as a digital babysitter, but a couple hours of screen time never killed anyone. Not only that, but technology isn’t going anywhere and the kids who grow up comfortable with it will be better off as adults.

4. Babyhood Milestones

A lot of parents obsess over every single babyhood milestone (and whether their little snowflake did things faster than other kids). But the truth of the matter is, every baby is different and most of the time it’s okay if your baby is a bit behind on certain milestones. As long as your doctor is comfortable with your child’s progress, ignore the Baby Olympics at your next mommy and me class, because usually works out in the end.

3. Late Potty Training

My husband likes to joke that he was potty trained “at gunpoint” before he turned two, which I’m sure is an exaggeration (right?), but plenty of moms take early potty training VERY seriously. I took a more laid back approach, and whaddayaknow, all my kids managed to use the toilet before they headed off to college. I’ve found that training is often much less stressful if you wait until your kid is ready instead of forcing the issue as soon as they can walk.

2. Head Lice!

Head lice is gross, obviously, but I also think it gets a worse rep than it deserves. It doesn’t only happen to dirty people, and it’s very difficult to prevent, so when (not if) it happens to your kids, don’t beat yourself up over it.

1. Stranger Danger

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to teach kids basic stranger safety rules, but I think some folks take this too far. Children are more likely to be victimized by someone they know, which is something parents often forget to mention. (Photo: altanaka/Shutterstock)

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