Do I seem a little hard on her? I'm actually a fan. Oh, I have a few beefs with her here and there (i.e., I don't think a child in the parents' bed is necessarily a problem), but she's good at what she does. Before I had Peter, I used to marvel at her wisdom... and the idiocy of the parents, who seemed to lack any common sense.
I still marvel at her wisdom, but I'm more overcome with compassion for the parents. My heart breaks to see their struggles, because this parenting business is hard. It's one thing for an outsider to come along and whip your kids into shape (Peter is much more charming and compliant with sitters than with me), especially when that's your only job. I call that parenting in a vacuum, which I was quite good at as a babysitter.
It's another thing, though, to parent in the day-after-day-after-day reality of spouses who work long hours, pregnancy hormones, and demands on your time and attention that go beyond your child's needs.
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