One of "Those Parents"

A friend of mine was joking on her Facebook status about how boring her kids’ soccer practices are. I replied, “Do you really have to go to every practice these days?”

Someone replied, “Sadly, where we live, if you don’t stay you’re one of ‘those parents.’”

I’m THAT parent. I plan on dropping my kid off at soccer practice (not when he’s three, because I think three-year-old soccer is a bit much. But when he’s six, and I have to run an errand, I will.)

I love my son. If I didn’t love kids, I wouldn’t be having another one in November. And I care about his safety, but I also think you can’t keep your kids in a bubble.

My parents were in town today, and we went to Burger King. A dad there wouldn’t let his six-year-old boy play in the indoor playplace because he is a self-described “hypochondriac.”

I happily enjoyed watching my 2.5-year-old son, Colin, climb up as far as he could, and then almost get stuck, and then ask for help getting down. I didn’t sanitize his hands on the way out.