The right way to parent.

There are so many hard choices to make when you are a new parent and so many ways to feel like you are getting it wrong. There is always one mum who seems to be in complete control and you're the gibbering wreck who can barely get your baby ready let alone see to yourself. It's not unusual to feel overwhelmed by it all and to wonder if what you're doing is the right way to parent.

When I was a kid I used to hate wearing my glasses and would only really put them on when lessons were being taught on the blackboards (oh how that ages me...). Of course I was told that by not wearing them I would make my eyesight worse. When I saw the optician I mentioned this and he told me there was also the theory that wearing glasses all the time made your eyesight worse, in the same way that wearing a splint all the time can stop your muscles working. He said neither were exclusively right and gave me permission to choose.

And so it is with parenting. There are so many books, techniques and lifestyles out there - they can't all be exclusively right, you can choose. You may find the one that resonates most with you (mine was a William Sears sleep book that I found too late for my first but followed diligently for my second. After being made to feel like I was spoiling my first baby and that she would never settle to sleep on her own ever, this book was like getting permission for doing it all the wrong way!) or you might want to pick and choose from them all to create a new technique.

Babies thrive. And they thrive most when their parents are coping. You are allowed to choose your parenting style - what works best for your family - and that will be the right way to parent.