These days, it seems being a good mom means getting a healthy, homemade meal [1] on the table every night, conjuring up cute crafts [2] over the weekend, and throwing over-the-top birthday parties [3]. While these things put a smile on your child's face, it also causes you a serious amount of stress. Perhaps it's time we take a note from Bunmi Laditan and step away from the Pinterest boards.

In a recent blog post, the creator of The Honest Toddler [4] and author of The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Life [5] ($12) shared her thoughts on parenting today and why we should stop creating what she calls a "magical" childhood. In the post, she compares today's parents with their own mothers and grandmothers, noting that if they could "see the pressure modern mothers put on themselves, they'd think we were insane."

"The pressure to make these elaborate birthdays, elaborate crafts, and elaborate vacations, I think it's getting to people," Laditan says in an interview with The Huffington Post. "They are just taking a step back and looking at their own childhood and saying, 'Ok, what made mine magical?' and they are seeing it wasn't any of these things." Laditan adds that another difference between parents of today and yesteryear is that we don't allow our children to be bored. Rather than allowing children to use their imagination to find a new way to play, we provide it for them.

"We don't have to keep acting like we are their puppets or play things," Laditan says.

To see Laditan's thoughts on the "magical childhood," read the full story on The Huffington Post [6].

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