Mommyish’s Rebecca Eckler & Lindsay Cross Talk Parents-Only Vacations On ‘Good Morning America’
Ever the one to incite controversy, Mommyish contributor Rebecca Eckler raised more than a couple eyebrows when she proudly proclaimed that she was taking a vacation – and leaving her 10-week-old son behind with his grandmother. Even though the idea might be surprising to some, Rebecca stood by her decision pointing out that a child so small is not going to remember the absence or miss anyone for a couple days. What’s more than that, after a long pregnancy, moms are entitled to a little “me time.”
Good Morning America jumped in to the debate, speaking with Rebecca and fellow contributor Lindsay Cross about being away from your child at such a young age. Rebecca explained her position, reiterating, “I think a happy mom makes a happy child and you know your child better than anyone else. Everybody’s going to have an opinion about something including this.”
Lindsay stands in the other camp. While she doesn’t see anything wrong with other moms taking parents-only vacations, she explained, “When my daughter was young, spending a night away would have been more stressful than relaxing.”
OB-GYN Jennifer Ashton weighed in on the controversy but reiterated that we need to be wary of mommy-shaming, “I think that we need to separate with this issue opinion and judgment. My opinion, I wouldn’t leave my baby for a non-work-related luxury vacation. Judgment, I don’t pass judgment on any mother, they’re doing the best they can.”
One vocal supporter of Rebecca’s post was Real Housewives of New York star Jill Zarin. She pointed out, “It’s a little bit hypocritical, if a husband had to go away on work after 10 weeks, you wouldn’t even be discussing it. It would be okay.” What’s more, Zarin pointed out that the need to defend decisions like this can come from the serious pressure put on mothers. “This helicopter parenting has got to stop! The baby’s going to be fine,” she reminds us.
And judging from the looks of things, Rebecca and that seriously adorable little boy of her’s are definitely just fine.
