Am I a Bad Mother?

There was an article in the Huffington Post yesterday, titled "Confessions of a Bad Mother."

Say no more: I'm intrigued.

What did this woman do to earn that title?  More importantly, have I unwittingly become a bad mother by committing a similar act?

{Jane kicks.}

Turns out, she pierced her 6-month-old's ears at the request of her husband who wanted to honor his Nicaraguan ancestral tradition.  She didn't do this on a whim; she gave it careful consideration.  When she decided to have it done, it wasn't at a kiosk in the mall; her daughter's ears were pierced by her pediatrician.

Eleni Gage wrote about her experience last week in the New York Times' "Townie" section.  Readers had strong reactions to the article.  They wrote kind words, and they lambasted this mother (and, seldomly, her husband) for making a decision they didn't feel was hers (or his) to make.

The reaction Gage received touches a nerve.  As a mother, I understand the uncertainty that accompanies making a decision for your child.  There are a million to make and while some are easy, others are impossible, and the pressure is immense.  To top it off, I notice all the other ways people are raising their children; ways that are totally different than mine.

It makes me wonder, Am I doing this wrong?

The answer I return to more and more, because it offers the best chance of sanity when I think I've
 finally gone and done it and screwed up my child for good, is to trust my instincts and do this parenting thing the best way I can.  Piercing her daughter's ears is what worked for Eleni Gage, just as not piercing my daughter's ears works for me.  Who's to say who's right and who's wrong?