No matter how I treat/discipline my kid, whether I am strict or soft, I feel like I am always judged as a parent by my family and friends. What should I do to stop them from judging me?

always remember that you are the parent and only you have the right to decide what to counsel, help , discipline etc. there's no benchmark to what is right or wrong when it comes to judging. for eg. u may see a mother slap her son and immediately judge that the mother is cruel and unloving. u even go to say that if u were in that mothers place u would never do that!! now isn't that called judging? you didn't know the entire scenario but u considered it your right to judge. humans are made with a natural sense of judging what's right and wrong. so that's exactly what you are facing. but what's disturbing is that you are disciplining your child based on how others feel it should be done. whether you are loving or disciplining it should only be to help your child understand thT u love him and care for him. please don't allow your family to weigh u down in this vicious cycle of right and wrong. if it needs to be then be pretty vocal to them and tell them to just stay out of it. don't give them that glory of feeling that they got to u. each one have an inborn natural tendency to be a good parent. we allow the environment in which we live to change us.

You have to realize that you cannot change anyone but yourself. You cannot change people's natures and hence, cannot stop people from judging you. Maybe you can tell your family and friends that you really are doing everything you could and a few words of encouragement from them would only help you. You can also tell them that you feel judged by their remarks and would appreciate if instead of commenting, they can also constructively help in disciplining your kid. After all, it takes a village to raise a kid. If you can't have a word with your folks, it is best to try and not let their remarks bother you. It would be difficult at first, but if you learn to not get upset by their comments, you will go a long way in parenting and life in general. After all, you are genuinely putting in a lot of effort and trying your best. Good luck!