There has been a lot of talk lately about types of mothers. Are you a Tiger Mother? A Western Mother? A Wimp Mother? All of the talk, the criticism of mothering-types, and the declarations of values led me to wonder where I fit on the spectrum. What values am I imparting - consciously or unwittingly?
At the beginning of the process, I have to admit that I wondered whether I actually had any values to articulate. Frequently, especially at the beginning, I felt like I was not making values-based decisions but was just getting by. (See e.g., I describe myself as a momma in training -- not a woman in charge -- and certainly not a woman with a clear set of values guiding my parenting decisions). Then I realized that I had spent a lot of time thinking about my motherhood through the lens of my childhood. My own feelings about what I liked (and probably more about what I didn't like) about growing up informed a very substantial part of my approach to parenting. Last, and on a less myopic note, I looked to friends' choices and the advice I could read in the limitless variety of parenting books, magazines, and - yes - blogs.
When I told my husband about this post and my values-evaluation, he told me that the following are his sources for his parenting values [and I believe that they are in order of importance]:
- Ninja movies;
- Survival shows [e.g., Man vs. Wild]; and
- America's Test Kitchen.
So we have all that going for us, which is nice.
