Good Mommy coaches her children to use magic words. Bad Mommy trains her children to be mindless, insincere automatons 

I was that proverbial newlywed, the one who was an amazing parent until I had my first child. Honestly, even after becoming a mother, I reared my brood in a comfortable self-congratulatory haze, secure in the knowledge that I was Good Mommy. Until I eventually realized that I wasn’t.

Here I will let you in on a closely guarded state secret, if you promise not to tell: My kids are not perfect. This is a head-scratcher, because I believe in Doing Things Right, and I work hard at this parenting thing. And though I’m not sure where I’ve gone wrong, I’ll share with you some of the wisdom I’ve gleaned over the years, and perhaps together we can sort it out.

To wit:

Good Mommy supervises her children closely when they are outside. Bad Mommy hovers and doesn’t let children exercise their own choices, depriving them of important experiential learning like Bad Stuff That Happens When You Eat Dirt.

Good Mommy makes sure everyone is eating wholesome meals, and junk only in moderation. Bad Mommy dictates food choices, thereby sapping her children’s freedom of choice, and silencing their natural hunger cues.