Enter the world of competition

To all you parents to be: be aware, haven't you been in an environment full of competition, here's one coming. First, it's about the progress of lifting head, moving toes, crawling, standing, running and all these things most children learn but which so many parents see signs in. It is for some reason better if a child learns these skills early. I don't know if there are any scientific studies which support these claims, but since scientific proof is not high on the requirement list in the "parent sphere", this is not an issue. A funny thing is that my son, despite my viewpoint was early in all these respects. But having a early walker is no walk in the park. When all the other mommies babies were content lying playing with the toes, my little monster was ready to explore the basement. If it is not the progress of the child it's of course stuff. You can, as a parent, compete in having the most/expensive stuff or you can compete in having the least/inexpensive stuff. And this is kind of cute in the parenting sphere - both ends can be the best!

Another side of the competition is who can follow the guidelines the best. The guidelines comes from the latest most hyped "I know all there is to know about children" that is. Spock was one the first all-there-is-to-know-guys in the 50:s. One funny thing is that a famous from the guy is "I used to have no children and five theories about children. Now, I have five children and no theories."

For you parents who have other areas in life in which you can compete I do have an advice and it's an interesting series from BBC Prime. Yesterday, I saw they were starting a rerun. The show is called Child of our Time (http://www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/tv_and_radio/child_of_our_time/). It is a project in which about 20 kids and their parents are followed during 20 years. During each show, an issue is being discussed and tested. For example, yesterday was about father's role. But instead of going on with theories and methods, they ask questions. And they use tests on both parents and children to make them answer the question. For example: Does children (4 year olds) have an image of what is female and male work? So they asked the children if their mom or their dad was best at different tasks. Of course, it's not scientific, but it gets you thinking and listen: they let you draw your own conclusions! A blessed gift in this world. Another good thing about the show is that there are no "good families" and no "bad families". All families are different, but isn't that the charm of it all?