I believe in honest parenting. For example, when my kid asks me where babies come from, I'm not going to make up some ridiculous story about a stork. That's honest parenting.
I remember my mom once telling me, "I'm not your best friend, I'm your mother." It upset me. But as I got older, I realized what she meant by it. We can still laugh and goof off and have fun together. But at the end of the day, she's the boss. Honest parenting.
But then there's cold, hard truth. And sometimes, the truth hurts. Take, for instance, this daddy blogger who recently posted about meeting his current wife and having their children. It started off as a charming story … and then this:
"If I were to be absolutely honest, my older son is my favorite of the two. He and I are adventurous partners in crime, and I can’t imagine life without him. He was an accident waiting to happen, and I’m so glad it did."
There was backlash over the comment almost immediately:
"You really don't care that your kids could find this one day? I cannot imagine seeing something like this written by my mom or dad."
"Jesus H. dude. Keep it to yourself. Someday your little one will be incredibly hurt by this."
Still, other readers appreciated his honesty:
"Tell these people with their backs up to lighten up! Everyone likes one child better at any given time, a 5 year old is easier for most men to relate to than a 2 year old simple as that."
"I commend you for being so honest and I can relate. I have 3 children and their ages span from 3-12. I think you will see as they get older and the younger child can 'do more stuff' that your 'favorite' may go back and forth as their personalities develop and they go through phases of wanting to be close and express their independence."
So what do you think? Is it normal to have a favorite child? And if so, would you ever admit it publicly?
Photo by Flickr member paulhami, used under a Creative Commons License.