AWAS 037: Wrestling with Parenting Guilt

Parents often feel guilty about all

kinds of things. We question whether we spent enough time with our

children, whether we are able to provide enough opportunities for

them, whether we are using the right kinds of consequences and

motivators for our children. During this episode, ABM and Mimi talk

about their own experiences with parenting guilt as well as

adoption guilt. It turns out, that the guilt is tied very closely

with shame and depression. The big takeaway? Go easy on ourselves

and practice more self-care.

On the second segment, the ladies

discuss the use of respectful/positive adoption language (RAL).

Prompted by a birth mother’s request not to be called BM in a

social media support group and subsequently being accused of being

“too sensitive,” ABM and Mimi explore adoption language and whether

it really meets the needs of the community. Although RAL is

designed to promote respect and dignity in the adoption community,

this language has been criticized for being dismissive of unethical

practices sometimes present in adoption.

In the Wind Down, Mimi and ABM

chuckle about singing gospel spirituals to deal with the stress of

child-rearing. They also briefly chat about Mimi missing a possible

hall pass opportunity with Don Cheadle.

Find show notes at addwaterandstirpodcast.com;  Tweet

Us @AWASPod