GUEST POST: good mom v. bad mom

A good mom: Chooses a name for her child. She considers major trends (not fads, trends, there's a difference), family history, culture, how it sounds with the surname, how easy it will be for the child to learn to say, spell and write this name. She also goes with a common spelling so as to avoid headaches, annoyances and mistakes at the bank, payroll office, school administration office, social security, etc. 
A bad mom: Chooses a really cool name and then deliberately effs it up. Jazzmin, Meeshel, Madecyn and Kloey are all good examples (that would be Jasmine, Michelle, Madison and Chloe, in case you were wondering, and yes, this generally happens to girls more than boys, although I did know somebody who named their little boy Jaxxsen.)

A good mom: Goes to the obstetrician and tries to heed the advice given to her. Sure, she's not perfect, but she tries and at least obeys all the "big" rules. 
A bad mom: Thinks doctors are whack jobs and doesn't care what anybody says, crack and tequila never did a baby harm. 

A good mom: Hears her baby cry and tries to figure out what's wrong. When hunger, sleepiness, fear and discomfort due to a dirty diaper, too much or too little clothing, poor positioning or restrictive safety belts have all been eliminated, she assumes it's simple loneliness and soothes the baby until s/he is ready to be put back into whatever crib/seat/swing contraption s/he prefers. 
A bad mom: Didn't even hear the baby cry over the Lynyrd Skynyrd blaring out of the stereo. 

A good mom: Cares what her children eat. She serves protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. They may not eat it, but she at least tries. She sometimes gives treats, just because it makes her smile to see them so darn happy. 
A bad mom: Serves Lucky Charms for every meal. That's twice a day, folks. 
 
A good mom: Knows that her child needs to grow up to be a functioning adult some day. So she teaches her child manners: please, thank you and you're welcome, the fact that you sometimes have to wait your turn, sharing is caring, and stealing is bad. 
A bad mom: Thinks your kid is a sh**head and should give up the Tonka truck already. 

A good mom: Wants her child to be self-sufficient. She stands by, watching the minutes tick away while a two year old struggles to put his pants on "all by hisself" every morning. After five days, by, golly, he's got it! 
A bad mom: Puts her kid in a camouflaged onesie so that she doesn't have to change it for a week and doesn't have time to teach him to tie his shoes, so he wears velcro ones. When he's eleven. 

A good mom: Realizes she has to teach her children to function in places like church, the grocery store, restaurants, movie theaters, libraries and the like. So she takes him to all of these places. She teaches him decorum, and when he simply refuses to behave, she takes him back home and tries again tomorrow. 
A bad mom: Says, "To hell with the comfort of others, I deserve a night out and babysitters are expensive!" so she brings her brood to a fancy restaurant, ignores them and allows them to wreak havoc on the place while she drinks wine and eats too much pasta. 

A good mom: Cares about her child's education. She is involved with the school; whether it be public, private, charter or home. She helps with homework and she encourages learning in any form. 
A bad mom: Says the teacher has it in for her kid. It's definitely not his/her fault that the other kids all hate him/her, and besides, how in the world can you expect a brilliant child like that to stoop to doing "busywork" when they have more intellectually stimulating things to do, like World of Warcraft or whatever else it is they do on the internet? 

A good mom: Knows that rules are in place to protect her children. She also knows that a time will come for every rule to be retired. When the child has learned the lesson attached to the rule, then it's no longer necessary. 
A bad mom: Thinks rules are too restrictive, and doesn't want to have an antagonistic relationship with her children, so she let's them "be themselves."
 
A good mom: Realizes that messes and stresses will happen every single day. She also realizes that the good outweighs the bad and that those little mess makers and stress makers are the greatest things in her life. 
A bad mom: Doesn't. 

Gina blogs over at Fantasy Casting, where she spouts her opinion about who should be cast in the movie versions of her favorite books. You can contact her here. 


From John: This is actually a blog swap.  If you are in desperate need of my regular brand of snarky, you should most definitely go check out my guest post.