The Village is Lost to Todays Parents?

[Mom2Two]

I would say the village is not really absent, but it has taken on a new form. It is digital now. I can literally have a conversation about my child's constipation with a complete stranger on the otherside of the world. While that accessibility can be appealing, i do think it has its significant drawbacks. For one, no matter what the issue, you can find something on the internet to back up your beliefs. Speaking with someone face to face (like your mom, grandma, uncle) is more intimate and it holds you more accountable than the internet does. My grandma is going to tell me stop feeding my kid tons of cheese and crap to help with the constipation. The internet is going to tell me that it is ok to give him mirilax daily versus changing his eating habits. And the internet mommy masses are going to validate it bc that is what they did too. I mean, if LO loves cheese, he should get as much as he wants right?? The thing is, when you asked the question, you left out the cheese part. And the mommy masses conveniently left out their child's nutrition or other contributing factors. There is not enough info to give solid advice, so it becomes cheap, standardized advice. Grandma knows LO amd has a vested interest in his health, unlike everyone online.

The village used to be more intimate and the idea was shared...lets help each other out and have each other's backs bc it is best for the children. Now, it has become more about what is best for the parents. LO is gonna get all the cheese he can eat bc it makes him happy and that makes mom/dad happy. It doesnt matter if it is no in his best interest, bc it is in their best interest that he not cry and throw a fit or be unhappy in any way. And they believe it bc their internet village confirmed it to be true.

Love this! Reminds me of advice columns where someone presents their problem but a whole lot of details are left out, so they usually get validated.

[CalCare]

Idk. I have a couple villages! I have a community in my 9 year old's school, I have a community where I recently moved away from (I have one of the old neighbors over for dinner a couple of times a month, they are elderly and like to think of my kids as grandkids), I have a community where I now live (exchanged numbers with one neighbor, am on nextdoor.com connecting everyone in the area, I've met like 8 different neighbors here since 3/5 move in, my kids play with 4 different neighbor family's kids), I have community even in the grocery stores I go to-do we all ylak about how everyone is and kids going to college and preschool etc. I offer and follow through on helping all of them here and there. I am feeding my little son's FCC provider's cat tmrw because they are out of town. Then on Saturday I'm going to a fundraiser for my older son's old preschool. They are another community I am involved with. These are all my villages. We help each other every day. My friend just drive me to and from my oral surgery yesterday! I watched her baby a few days before that. So she could volunteer! It goes on and on. I do think fb connects me more, so does having texting and email - makes communicating plans quick and easy, so does next door.com as well as our school's parent communication thing called parentsquare.