Do you ever feel judged on the way you discipline your kids by people that aren't parents?

Just because someone doesn't have any children doesn't mean they don't know how to raise one! I went rounds with my stepson's wife when she was pregnant. How do you think this made me feel when she basically said "I don't listen to anyone that has never had a baby, they just don't know what they're talking about". Oh really??? I had to raise my sister's kids because she was schizophrenic and was going to kill her third child, so I do know how to raise them. This kind of attitude obviously gets my fur flying!! Sometimes it takes an objective observer to give constructive advice. Stop being so closed off and be more open to becoming a better parent. No one is perfect at raising children. Oh there's one more thing I'd like to point out....Super Nanny has no children of her own. I think she's pretty darn good at raising children, don't you agree?

It's amazing to me that all of these so called "parenting" experts, the ones who write all the books, don't actually have children themselves. It's annoying, but when friends of ours(childless, of course), would try and give us advice on how to handle our then 2 year old, I called their bluff. I told them that if they could do better, be my guest. We asked them to watch him while we went and grabbed a cup of coffee. When we came back (about an hour later), my friends were ready to pull their hair out, my son was screaming, and my husband and I just laughed and laughed. I wouldn't worry about what other people say, everyone is an "expert" until they actually have to face raising them. I'm sure you're doing a great job!! Good Luck

Honestly, shrugging them off is probably not your best bet. In my mom's experience as a single parent, the people she shrugged off just heaped it on more. You should be annoyed. I am not a parent, but I am disgusted by the level of lofty rudeness it takes to tell someone how to parent if you don't have any offspring of your own. They simply cannot and do not know what parenting is like, and have no experience to base their beliefs on. It would be just like a manicurist telling you how you ought to fix your car. Preposterous. As with other things that people stick their noses into that they oughtn't, it usually works to politely say something like, "While I appreciate that you have opinions on this matter, I am not interested in hearing or discussing them with you." That may sound a bit terse, but being short and to the point is the only way to get through to people who are judgmental and vocal about it. Good luck with it, that's never a comfortable situation to be in.

People who aren't parents, regardless of their education, have no right to stand in judgment of those of us who ARE parents. In fact, no one has any right to stand in judgment of another human being, someone else already has that job and it's not our place. Until a person HAS children and has faced the difficult and trying times of raising a child they have no right to determine whether or not what you or I are doing as parents is right or wrong.

I don't actually have any children that I gave birth to, however I had to raise two young boys at a very early age.I understand how you feel, it IS irritating. These two boys were my baby brothers. My mother had left when I was very young and my father had to work 2-3 jobs at a time to make ends meet, which left a majority of the child-rearing to me. I was, at the age of 10, almost completely responsible for the lives of an 8 and 6 year old. I would take them to the grocery store and to school and bathe them, do their laundry , make 3 meals a day for them as well as discipline them.It wasn't my father's fault and I don't blame him at all, but I was essentially a surrogate parent. I would take them over to their friends houses and keep an eye on them and the parents of these kids just let them run absolutely wild.It was disgusting. My one brother has ADD and my other has a cognitive disorder, as well as ADHD. Therefore, these boys require a schedule in which to function.My aunts and uncles did not seem to understand this.I would tell them "They need to go to bed at 8pm, at the latest."(They would send them to bed at midnight!!!!). "Do NOT give them chocolate and candy after dinner."(They would stuff them with junk and then not understand why the boys wouldn't sleep. Gee I wonder why, eh?) I completely agree with you. It is incredibly frustrating and NO ONE should ever assume just because their child-rearing ideals work for them, everyone else should live by them. It simply got to the point where I would no longer let the boys spend the night at these people's houses. I explained to these people why I would not allow it and told them that it appeared that they were not capable of dealing with two little boys with special needs.They could come and visit us, but that was it. They are YOUR kids. They are under YOUR control. and people in your life will need to learn to respect that. I suggest making it clearer to them. And those child-rearing books? What a pile of crap.I bet those authors have never lived with children 24/7.

yes, and my wife and I were judged. We were at a local "inn" and having a supper with our then 18 month old son( who is 12 yrs old now). It was a truck stop type of Inn where there are phones at the booths for the truck drivers to use. My wife ordered a steak and was given a steak knife. our son went to grab the knife and we both stopped him, and told him no- no. and just gave him a tap to his little hand to make him understand it was bad. the elderly couple in the next booth grabbed the phone and called the police on us. when he arrived he came over to us and he saw it was me, the cop and I knew each other because at the time I was a part time police officer and full time paramedic in this area. he asked me what happened and my wife and I told him. The elderly couple wanted us locked up for child abuse. The officer asked if they had children and how they would stop something like that. They told him they married late in life and had no children. So the officer told themsince they have no kids, they had no right saying how someone disiplines their own child. and since the officer knew me, he told them that knowing me, He knows that I would never abuse my child or any other child. and they should just mind their own business. It just goes to show that people who don't know anything about raising a child should just stay out of other people's business on matters like this.

Just tell the busy body's that if you warm up butt cheeks a few degree's ear wax has a tendency to start melting. It's a scientific fact... it was studied at the UNIVERSITY OF REAL LIFE PARENTING...... Anyone that does not discipline their child will have a child or childeren that run the household. My old neighbor used to ask her 6 year old son if HE wanted to go to wal-mart, if he said no she didn't go - now how funny is that. Who is the parent here. When my Daughter was about three I went to the grocery store with her and her mother. My daughter was a perfect angel. My ex was absolutely amazed she had no idea that she didn't have control over her own daughter. When my daughter has gone to the store with me in the past I'd put her in the cart and she'd stand up and grab for things I told he to sit down nicely she didn't so I put her down by pressing on her shoulder and at the back of the knees You should have seen the look she gave me... it was of total amazement that I actually did something and not throw out a bunch of empty threats..... as her mother does i.e. I'm gonna ... 10 times and never do anything. My daughter has figured out that mom's not going to so she keeps doing it. Now if I'm there all I have to do is look at her and she knows that I mean business. Children should have all kinds of LOVE givin to them but they also need someone to set the guidlines and someone that will hold them to those guidlines that YOU set not theirs. Parents are not to make their childeren fear them but respect them and to do that they have to have some discipline.

ha ha waite til they become parents and get revenge!! I had a friend who use to do it all the time and now she has kids and it's a totally different situation. what she thought would work, dosn't

If they are authorities, such as worthy teachers, real friends, or sincere relatives, I would listen and weigh things, as children tend to behave differently at home and outside of it. However, with some others, it's best to just shrug them off or tell them outright that each child is unique and therefore, needs a unique manner of discipline which only his parent would know how.