This one goes out to all you moms and dads who participate in parenting message boards and groups and sometimes find that you just. can’t . even. when you’re scrolling through posts.

When does a fight begin? Is it with the original post (OP) or with the first dissenting comment?

Ok, we all know it’s the latter, but let’s take a minute to realise that somebody, somewhere, will look at each seemingly-innocent item on the following list and think to themselves,

“Them’s fightin’ words!”

1.  Use the word “vaccination.”

2.  Post a picture of your child in their car seat, or eating something, or sitting next to an animal.

3.  Ask “When should I get my baby’s ears pierced?”

4.  TYPE IN ALL CAPS.

5.  Make one … tiny … little … typo.

6.  Inquire about homeopathic remedies, amber teething necklaces, baby walkers, or using Vick’s Vapo-Rub on your infant.

7.  Post an article that is clearly satire, then sit back and wait for someone to take it seriously.

8.  “Anyone know what this is?” accompanied by a picture of anything bleeding. Or a rash; rashes get people riled up real good.

9.  Three letters: C.I.O.

10.  Use the phrase “not looking to start a debate, but …”

So what’s the lesson for PLNers in all this? I dunno. But maybe just the knowledge that these are the fights parents have been having since the dawn of the internet will give us the perspective we need to occasionally take a breath and disengage. 🙂

Did we forget anything? Add your own suggestions in the comments!

Photo credits: NIAID (vaccine), Sean Freese (car seat), Kona Gallagher (baby feeding dog)