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Perspective

Fellow moms: When enough is enough

Competition is a real part of modern parenthood, and it can actually be useful.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: I do not care if Jamie Lynne Grumet, the California mom who appeared on the cover of Time magazine’s “Are You Mom Enough?” issue breast-feeding her 3-year-old, ends up nursing her son at the prom. That’s her choice. Time’s cover isn’t unnerving because of her beliefs. It’s unnerving because it ascribed a routine sentiment — wanting to do right by our children — to a particular parenting style, and so turned “mom” into a makeshift adjective broadly defined for the masses.

In response, I took to my Boston.com blog and wrote a list of motherhood wishes for my son, fundamentals that I hope transcend alarmist headlines. CliffsNotes version: With luck, he’ll be a good person even if I bought the wrong stroller. Of course, my maternal intent might be noble, but that doesn’t mean I’m not antsy occasionally. Aren’t we all?

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