Think Twice Before Judging

   

    I posted on my Facebook page the link to this wonderful article about thinking twice before judging another parent (click on the blue text to see the pages) . This article really hit home for me. These parents had just found out their son had a rare neurological disorder and were baby wearing their two year old son as they walked to the Pharmacy. They were walking there to pick up a prescription for him immediately after leaving the Emergency room, when a lady on the street started yelling at them about how their son was old enough to walk and shouldn't be carried. Here this awful lady was, yelling at a family after they had just been through this terrifying ordeal and wanted to just hold their son close to them. She had no idea what they had just been through, but her own personal views on parenting seemed to supersede any sense of compassion or empathy and instead she jumped straight to judgement. I'm not going to tell you the whole story, you'll need to click on the link; but I wanted to give you an idea of what the story was about before moving on.  
    I can tell you, when I've seen a parent "let" their child throw a fit in the grocery store, I've sometimes questioned what they were doing. I think we've all been there, judging first without thinking about what that parent may have gone through that day. We often think "oh I  would never allow my child to do that, what is that mom thinking" and not ever consider what's going on in that family's life. The story mentions a similar scenario in which she saw a mother and child in a grocery store, and the child was having a tempertantrum on the floor. Come to find out, the little girl was just diagnosed with autism and the mom had learned the best thing to do was to let the moment pass. 
    This article really makes me think every time I see a mom or dad with their child. It makes me wonder what could be going on in their lives and if I can do anything simple to help make their day brighter. Right now I'm starting off very simply, just making sure to smile big and say hi to every parent I see walk by. Yesterday I saw four different moms struggling with their babies in Target. I just smiled at them and said "hi." Just from that small interaction alone, I saw their demeanor change and a smile form on their faces!
     I hope this article strikes a cord in you, as it did with me! What could you do today to help make a stranger's day better?