Dear Ms. Pot,
I’m a mother of two kids, and I’m home alone with them all day. ALL DAY. From 6 am Cheerios to 6 pm mac-n-cheese, with laundry and playgrounds and Spongebob in between. (Do you know that Spongebob as 1.8 million Twitter followers, btw? I’m one of them. Caillou only has 1,700. I’m one of them, too.) Anyway. Clearly, I’m bored out of my mind. But sometimes… while my children are sweetly napping, I’ll slip outside and take a few nips from my vape pen. And suddenly, washing Sippy cups is fun! Am I bad parent?
Mom in Minnesota
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Dear MIM,
Experts may not agree, but I think smoking pot (in moderation) can actually make you a better parent. And I say this as a normal, productive member of society—and a mother myself, who, yes, often finds it more fun playing Uno for the umpteenth time after a toke or two. It makes me more engaged, more in the moment; so that when I’m playing Uno with my kid, I am PLAYING UNO WITH MY KID. Not thinking about work or weekend plans or wishing I were alone reading my New Yorker or watching “The Affair” instead.
There are a million parenting books out there with titles like Happy Parents, Happy Kids; Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids; Calm Parents, Happy Kids… I haven’t read any of these books, of course, and I highly doubt they recommend parents get stoned. Still, their basic premise holds true. If you’re happy, odds are, they’ll be happy. So if a little marijuana, now and then, makes folding laundry and making mac-n-cheese more tolerable (and tasty), enjoy! Just don’t let them see you smoking.
Love,
Ms. Pot
