I was listening to the radio in the car today, and they were talking a bit about how sometimes total strangers or even people you know will randomly come up and criticize your parenting.  "You're feeding that baby wrong", "You've got to get him sleeping on schedule", "Why isn't she wearing a hat in this weather?" et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam.  

They asked for the biblical perspective on how to respond in these type of situations.  I usually refrain from bringing up religion, but hopefully whatever your personal beliefs may be, you can acknowledge there is *some* wisdom to be found in the Bible.  *end disclaimer*


A verse they quoted was this: 


"Do not rebuke a fool or he will hate you;
       rebuke a wise man and he will love you."


I like how the Message version of the Bible elaborates on this:


"If you reason with an arrogant cynic, you'll get slapped in the face;
   confront bad behavior and get a kick in the shins.
So don't waste your time on a scoffer;
   all you'll get for your pains is abuse.
But if you correct those who care about life,
   that's different—they'll love you for it!
Save your breath for the wise—they'll be wiser for it;
   tell good people what you know—they'll profit from it."


I can especially relate to this in the world of Facebook and blogging.  There are some people that are truly impossible to reason and communicate with.  


They talked about how we need to consider the type of person we are talking with in the situation.  There are times when we can just politely (or not, lol) blow a person off because they would never hear us through their ignorance anyway, and other times when we may be able to say "Thanks for your concern, but actually here's what we do and why..." and be met with understanding and respect by a wise person.  There are some fools though, that no matter what you say and do, will always find a way to hate on you for it.  They may even dig their heels into their foolish ways even more just to spite you for daring to disagree.  An example would be the mothers on facebook discussion boards I've seen say things like "I can't wait to circumcise my kid just to piss people like you off".  Yeah.  Those discussions are definitely time wasted on fools.  Especially after a few hundred mind-numbing pages of their idiocy, lol.


Anyhoo, just some scattered late night thoughts, and I'd love to hear yours :-)

I knew I wouldn't be able to handle her being around during labor though, so we planned for my parents to be in charge of her for those hours. Luckily, I ended up laboring from midnight to 7am, so she slept the entire time. When the head was (finally) visible, we called for my parents to bring her in. I like a party for the actual birth! They held her as she watched me push him out. We still dealt with jealousy, but she knew we couldn't put him back!"  -Aimee, http://delilahlou.blogspot.com/

My little dream is becoming a reality!  Many amazing people have pitched in.  Lauren Jenks of K.N.O.W. created a Saving Penises website and jumped right on board when I brought up the idea of a benefit auction.  Then many great crafters, WAHM's, and businesses generously pitched in to donate their items!

There are an average of 15 requests for the information packs every week, each one costing $13 to produce and ship.  Anyone can donate to the cause at any time, or even join the Buck-a-Month Club to make regular contributions, but more help is needed!  The info packs have been extremely effective at educating parents.  *Every* family that has actually looked over the information has chosen to keep their child intact.  You can read some of the touching testimonies here.

The auction will run from Thursday June 17th to Thursday June 24th, and 100% of the proceeds will go to Saving Penises.

Between Danelle of Peaceful Parenting, Lauren of K.N.O.W, and myself, this intactivist effort spans the U.S.  I hope that with this auction, the support will come from all over the globe.  This is your chance to donate to an important cause AND get something really cool in return :-)

Click here to visit the auction and see all the awesomeness available!

Please tell your friends.  Although you may not want them to outbid you, lol, competition is healthy for the cause.

An important note if you bid:  please add the auction's email address to your contacts.  If you're the winning bidder, we need to be able to reach you without it ending up in your spam!  If we don't hear back from you within 3 days, the item will have to go to the next highest bidder.   auctions4sp@gmail.com

HAVE FUN!

• Using cloth will save the environment from the harmful chemicals released during the manufacturing process of paper.
• Using cloth will save your child from exposure to the toxic chemicals found in many disposable wipes.
• Using cloth will reduce your plastic consumption.
• Using cloth will reduce your contribution to our overcrowded landfills.
• Using cloth will save you hundreds of dollars over the years.

1. Keep a reusable shopping bag or other container in the bathroom. We hang a Chico bag up on the bathroom door for family cloth and toss it in the diaper pail on laundry day.
2. Wash with your regular laundry. If you are laundering cloth diapers, definitely throw the family cloth in with the diapers. But if you are done with diapers and you are only using your cloth wipes for the easy jobs, just toss them in with your normal wash. (In our house, we use cloth for potty and regular TP for poo. How's that for TMI?!) Don't let the thought of washing family cloth gross you out, think of it this way: when your child wets her pants or the bed, you don't think twice about sticking the soiled laundry in the washer, right? Cloth wipes are no different. Cloth towels used as napkins, Kleenex, or paper towels can go in with your regular laundry as well.
3. Make homemade wipe solution. For cloth diapering families, there's no reason you can't use cloth wipes for the messy clean-up jobs, just keep a spray bottle with homemade wipe solution handy. I make mine using water, a few drops of tea tree oil, and a few drops of lavender essential oil.
4. Get enough wipes and towels for your family. For family cloth, I have about 50 cloth wipes in circulation for our family of three with one in diapers. I do cloth diaper laundry every other day, and I am often close to running out of wipes if I wait too long between loads. I have at least 30 cloth towels. We use them for tea towels, as paper towel/napkin replacements, Kleenex, and I keep a few in the backpack and car for random spills. When my son was younger they doubled as burp rags.
5. They don't need to be fancy. Sure cute wipes/towels are fun, but if you are on a budget there is no reason to spend a lot of money on cloth. Many of our cloth towels are cheap prefold diapers that I dyed. You can cut up old t-shirts for wipes or towels or use an economy size package of soft wash cloths.