Along with “The Decider,” “Macaca” and “Youtube,” the deliciously descriptive “Sanctimommy” made the New York Times list of buzzwords for 2006. It’s self-explanatory, really, but here’s the explanation anyway on the growing cult of Parents Who Judge Other Parents.

When I blogged in October about not getting the toxic brew of candy-and-consumerism at Halloween, I guess I was being a sanctimommy (and boy, did many of you let me know it). In return, I got a whole lot of sanctimommy-ness hurled back, including all those who said they felt sorry for my babies with me as a mother. And yes, daddies are perfectly capable of being sanctimommies too. Take the time my guy and I escaped on a baby-free weekend. We found ourselves next to two toddlers on the ferry to Madeleine Island. The mommy was pointing out the sights: the lighthouse, the birds, the water, all in an exaggerated cheery tone. At the end of the ferry ride, my husband growled under his breath: “All that Directed Looking.” 

Here’s what New York blogger Mom-101 has to say about why parenthood turns us all into a quivering mass of sanctimommy-ness. Even the buttoned-up Times of London noted that sanctimommies have landed in Britain, along with that other frightening creature: the “uber-boober,” or mothers obsessed with breastfeeding.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 at 12:41 am and is filed under Family Life, Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.