What should my palette consist of?

We as parents must remember that everything we say and do will impact our children. Every decision made must first be thought out, not just with your brain but your heart as well. There are a number of questions that first need answering before taking on any new challenge. Are you doing this for you and your convenience? Is this best for your child? Is it safe and what are the risks? Are you fully understanding the concern, ruling out all other possiblities? Even though this is what your mom did, is this still considered acceptable or safe today? What is your ultimate goal and is your goal realistic?... And the list goes on.

Another twist to the decision process is remembering that those close to you may or may not support your decisions. And it IS ok for them to be on a "need to know" basis and there are some things they don't need to know. (Assuming all choices are safe, legal and healthy for your child(ren). This is your child, not theirs and although their thoughts and concerns are very important and should be added to the palette for consideration, it is still ultimately your decision and that of your partners, should you be in a partnership. To avoid some conflicts you will just need to decide what family matters will be shared and which you will not. For example: Co-sleeping (I will go into this in much more detail later but for now a small tid bit). Not everyone supports co-sleeping. More people do it than are willing to admit, especially when their babies are no longer newborns and are now young toddlers/children.

All to often when I am discussing things with other moms regarding things they've decided to do or not do they often reply with: "My mother or mother-in-law or sister or sister-in-law etc etc says that's bad or I need to do such and such" etc etc. My answer is always the same, take into consideration what they have to say but always remember that as the childs parent it is your final decision so you should never feel obligated to follow their advice.

And so the question remains, what should your palette consist of? Those things that may work in helping, those things you feel have a chance at helping and those things you feel may not help but are worth considering should the need arise to accomplish your goal.

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~ Mark Twain

Never say never, lol. I've lost track of the number of times moms have said they chose to do things with their kids they SWORE they'd never do. When you are a parent you do what works :) You should never expect everyone else to agree with it. It goes without saying that your childs safety and health should be first and formost of course with all decisions. If you ask the opinions of others on a technique you are considering best be prepared to have some who agree and some who do not. If you dont want to hear negative opinions then it's best to not ask at all.

Some of our greatest acheivements come from the least expected resources.