Why do parents judge one another? Why do people without kids seem to think they know how to raise them better?

I would like to be clear about something. I have seen far too many comments disparaging the parents of the 3-month-old that was injured in the shooting in Aurora, Colorado last night. These are NOT necessarily bad parents. A 3-month-old is NOT aware of its surroundings, very likely is up at that time of night, or just plain sleeps through anything.

Gabe and I took Aiden to the drive-in multiple times when he was just a few months old. He was born in March and we went to many movies that summer. I could nurse him in the dark, I could snuggle him when he needed it, and I could lay him in his bucket seat with a bug net over it for him to snooze. Did he care when Spider-Man was losing? Or that Bumblebee was actually an alien robot? Nope. When Olivia came along she was a bit bigger when it was time for the drive-in but the only difference was that she slept in a pack n’ play instead of a bucket seat. Normally they were asleep before the first movie started and snoozed most of the night.

We weren’t horrible parents for taking Aiden and Livi to the drive-in as infants, no more than those parents are. We were better parents because we could relax and enjoy each other while making sure they were both happy and safe.

Can we now please stop judging one another and focus on supporting a community that has suffered a tragedy?