Why can't we all just get along?

I am fresh from a big vaccine discussion on one of my mommy groups and I am spent. After that blood bath, I got another email from another mommy "friend" telling me how I was so "wrong" about my thoughts on this zoo (she loved and I hated). It has taught me one thing that when it comes to kids, parenting and things we do with our kids, there doesn't ever seem to be one right answer. However, I would like to submit that opinions (as in like and hate) has very little to do with "right", right?

Like all opinions, I don't think that mine weighs any heavier than the "paper" that this is being written on but like all opinionated people, I chose to write them anyway and share. I also believe in contributing to the "system". I read other people's reviews and get a lot of insight from them, so I think it is only fair that I contribute as well so that people may avoid my pitfalls.

I am wondering now if I should ever share my thoughts. Most people, once a parent, begin to adopt ideas and viewpoints based on their experiences of parenthood. Some then feel that because it had worked splendidly on Junior, then it must be as sacred as gospel. What saved me from that narrow point of view is little s, who firmly rejects being a copy of her older sister. s is fierce in her independence and refuses to follow any of her sister's footsteps. It almost seems like she takes great pains to avoid them.

I find that I have "encounters" with those parents often. However the "reality" is as diverse as the personalities of each little child. "What works" runs the gamut.

In the end, I bowed out of the vaccine discussion with this thought - all parents really have the same goal in mind, "the best for our kids." So as I continue posting my thoughts and opinion on the web, know that I will only be expressing one of the many viewpoints that make this parenting thing an adventure, a struggle and a joy.