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Our Origins
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September 2008
Our premier issue, Fall 2008.
I began parenthood as an imposter. The hospital referred to me as “the mother” but I really felt like a helpless, clueless kid. When my husband and I returned home with our brand new baby, we looked around our house for the real parents. Where were the adults who knew how to care for this helpless infant? Were we on Candid Camera? Thus began a continuous and never-ending journey of on-the-job training.
Playgroup saved my life. A cadre of other “imposters” united, and we groped our way through the darkness of raising children. We shared pooping stories and colicky baby stories. We shared embarrassing moments of public tantrums and sassy mouths. We shared and shared and shared. And from these exchanges, we learned. But, then we blinked, and our playgroup days were over. As my children got older, parenting became more complicated. At the onset of each new stage, I reverted to the feeling of imposter.
I craved a response to “what did you do when your child did…” In fact, I felt more in the dark with fewer resources. Suddenly, there was much less sharing among mothers.
What makes sharing more complicated? One reason is self-defense. On some level, our children’s successes feel like our successes. Likewise, our children’s failures seem to reflect our own failures. So, in order to preserve our reputation, we carefully guard our information.
We also protect our stories because the new moments now belong to our children. Our children have developed into separate individuals with their own personalities. Our worries and fears are theirs, as well, and we no longer own the stories. Out of respect for our children’s privacy, we begin to stop sharing.
Your Teen is our new forum for sharing. We can share our stories with anonymity and without betrayal. We can receive advice and camaraderie from other people experiencing similar concerns, worries and pain. And we can learn from articles written by professionals and adolescents. Your Teen is a grown-up playgroup for parents of adolescents. We hope you will enjoy it!
