Over on the CBC there is an editorial on Hipster Parenting. It starts out with a description of A book about "Hipster Parenting" and quickly degenerates to "Kids these Days":

People used to raise kids with a sort of quiet stoicism; the fact that humans have been reproducing for millions of years was enough to humble any new breeder. But in this era of unfettered narcissism, child rearing has become a spectacle. The tabloids stalk famous females in search of a “bump” to monopolize the news cycle; Tom Cruise buys his pregnant wife a $200,000 US ultrasound machine for home use; and Oprah exalts celebrity mothers as though having a child is as novel and courageous as space travel. And non-celebs? They bloviate in blogs.

It’s the age of full disclosure, but also the age of prolonged childhood. Due to societal changes — particularly greater permissiveness in the workplace — people are no longer obliged to grow up. They show up at the office in the sort of garb they wore in middle school: sneakers and a hoodie.

Oh Noes! Sneakers and hoodies? It's the end of civil society! This is all highly ironic as I post—bloviate one might say—in my blog whist wearing sneakers, and a hoodie, at work no less. But I digress.

It seems that the main point of the is that in order for one to be a good parent, you have to be a passive little consumer doting on the center of your life. No, not only is it important that you devote your life to your little one, but now you must conform to societies norms as well. "Feel Pollack’s righteous anger, the way he scoffs at old-guard parents and their squareness, their addiction to Raffi, their misguided altruism.". I have news for you Andre, you old-guard parents are square. Your misguided altruism is worth scoff and scorn.

I think that this is highly illustrative of a stark cultural, and perhaps generational divide between Andre and myself. Andre asks: "In 'Notes from a Drunk Aunt,' Lisa Gabriele writes about the freedom of not having to be someone’s role model. What moral are we, as parents, supposed to glean from that?" And to me, there are plenty of moral lessons, like: why do you expect every adult to be a perfect role model? Is it really appropriate to talk down to children? Does my liberalism end when it relates to my daughter, and why should this be so?

So what is this cultural difference between Andre and I? Well it strikes me that Andre comes from the "What to expect in the first years" school of parenting. The style of parenting that claims your child is a beautiful individual special little snowflake that needs your constant care, attention and doting, but only within certain well-defined parameters. Andre complains about this era of "unfettered narcissism", and yet the parenting style that removes our children from the gritty realities of daily life, that encourages them to think they are special, that they really are the primary focus to mommy and daddy causes the unfettered narcissism.

Now don't get me wrong. I love my daughter. Lots. Lots and lots and lots. I don't go to as many all night rave-techno parties any more. I don't spend hours down in my studio,I spend time making castles and running in circles instead. But that doesn't mean I am no longer a musician. The way to raise a well balanced human being is to be a well balanced human being, and being a well balanced human being means maintaining something similar to the lifestyle that I currently live. Are there compromises? Of course! But when a child realizes that they are the center of their parents life, they realize that they can wrap them right around their little finger. I'd rather raise a child who can become an important part of her community based on her own merits, skills and abilities. Harmony is a part of my life, not my whole life.

Andres article ends off with complains about the babble.com website based on what can only be a quick scan of the photos and headlines. If you actually read the articles, Madeline is not complaining about her second, instead, she is expressing a fear that a lot of parents have, and pointing out that average isn't bad. Erin Cressida Wilson is giving a frank look at wanting a girl, but getting a boy, which if you are a perfect "What to Expect..." parent, should never happen. Frankly, it looks as if Babble.com's articles are truthful windows into what it's like to be parents, rather then the bullshit white-picket-fence-and-soccer-mom (pseudo) reality that Andres would have us all "grow up" into.

I'd like to finish off with this quote from babble.com:

What we're hoping to create with Babble is a forum for all the experiences that make having and raising kids in the city so fraught. But we also hope to channel the spirit of all those non-neurotic strangers on the street who greet new parents with nothing but the purest delight.

Yea, sounds like a horrible site to me.