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Comparison



Bart just asked me if we should quit giving Isaac (10 months) bottles, and instead, just use sippy cups.  “So-and-so’s son is 10 months and he only uses sippies.”  I thought for a second that he’d gone off his rocker.  Those are the types of things I worry about, not him.  What prompted this completely out-of-character question?
Facebook.

Caroline’s son, Damon is almost exactly the same age as Isaac.  And he rolled over incredibly early.  And every time I read a blog post saying mentioning that Damon was rolling all over the room, I would repeat to myself, “Every baby is different.  Every baby is different.  Every baby is different.”
And then I’d put Isaac on the floor on his tummy and beg him to roll towards me.

It’s so easy to compare yourself, your life, or your children to everyone else’s, especially when you’re active in social media like blogging or Facebook.  I know, as a mom, I am definitely guilty of it.
But I try to remember that what people post online is often (but not always) the side of themselves they WANT people to see.  For example, I might mention how bright Adam is and how he could recognize his letters so early, but I probably haven’t talked about how other kids his age are starting to color inside the lines and he just scribbles all over the page.
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And, honey…Isaac’s bottles are just fine.
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Would you like to comment?

  1. I think we're all guilty of playing the comparison game. I always have to remind myself that everybody has different struggles. Some are just better at concealing it than others.

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  2. I had to stop reading a blog because the mom bragged about her kid so much that it made me worry that Mel was "behind". She claimed to have her son potty trained at 13 months! You are right. Each kid is different.

    www.thisfarmfamilyslife.blogspot.com

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  3. I'm guilty as well...I too compare my children to other children and often times get discouraged well. I liked that second quote about our behind-the-scenes and others highlight reel...

    p.s. Dallas still likes to scribble all over the page (and he'll be 4 in less than a month) :o)

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  4. It's totally true that we rarely get the whole picture. Facebook is more like "My best face" book than pure reality.

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  5. I am guilty as well! I just have to remind myself not to get caught up in the comparing. As a teacher I see how different each kid can be. If that is all I worried about I wouldn't have time to enjoy being a parent at all.

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  6. Amen, Sistah! I'm horrible about comparing myself to others (local especially) in my field. It just brings me down, it's dumb - nothing positive comes out of it.

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