Lynda Loveland: Don't be a parenting Simon!

No, it's not about giving orders to your kids. Think of Simon in terms of the former American Idol judge. It's about NOT judging other parents. We're all guilty of it, even people without kids. We judge their parenting skills, their parenting food choices, their attire, their age and the list goes on.

How many times have you thought to yourself, if someone sees me x, y and z they're going to think I'm a horrible parent? But in reality, we're not! Of course, there are always exceptions. My point is, we never really know the whole story about someone, their background, their reason for doing something.

I remember reading a story about a man on the subway who was letting his young kids run wild on the train while he seemed oblivious. The other passengers were shooting him dirty looks and becoming irritated. Turns out the man was on his way home from the hospital where his wife had just died leaving him a single parent.

I was reminded of this when I ran across this video made in Thailand and based on a true story. It's about a young woman, who is a student and mother to an adorable little girl. She becomes close with her daughter's teacher, and he asks if the rumors -- ideas about how she came to be such a young parent -- are true.

The video is kinda long, seven minutes, which put me off at first, but I'm very glad I watched it. The ending brought tears to my eyes. Parenting is tough. We need each others support, not snap judgments.

Lynda is the mom of three and co-host of Mix 101.5 WRAL-FM's The Mix Morning Show. Find her here on Thursdays. Click here to see her Facebook page.