I remember the day as if it were yesterday. My three-month-old daughter was sleeping soundly in her stroller as we browsed through a bookstore. We were still in the early days of implementing our Babywise routine, but I was feeling pretty proud of our Wake-Eat-Play-Sleep cycles and how well our three-hour schedule was working.

When the three-hour mark hit, I gently woke her up for her feeding, just as we'd been doing consistently at home. I was excited to show my aunt how well our little system was working—how content and well-rested my baby was, how predictable our days had become.

"You should never wake a sleeping baby," my aunt declared, her tone suggesting I was committing some sort of maternal crime. "Babies need to sleep when they're tired, not on some rigid timeline."

Standing there in the bookstore, holding my well-rested, content baby, I felt that familiar wave of self-doubt crash over me. Who am I to know what's best? I'm just a first-time mom. The confidence I'd been building crumbled in the face of her well-meaning but contradictory advice.

But then something clicked. That evening, as I tucked my daughter into her crib at 7 PM and watched her drift peacefully to sleep—as she had every night for weeks—I realized something profound: I was proud of myself for going against the grain and seeking an option that suited my family with intention.

That bookstore moment marked my transformation into what I now call a maverick parent—and it changed everything about how I approached raising my children.

The Advice Avalanche: When Everyone Has an Opinion

If you're a parent, you know this scenario all too well. Everyone—and I mean everyone—has opinions about how you should raise your children. The pediatrician says one thing, your mother-in-law says another, the parenting blogs contradict each other, and that mom at the playground has yet another approach entirely.

It's exhausting.

We live in an age of information overload where every parenting decision becomes a minefield of conflicting advice. Should you sleep train or bedshare? Baby-led weaning or purees? Screen time or no screen time? Public school, private school, or homeschool? The options are endless, and the pressure to make the "right" choice is overwhelming.

Meanwhile, you're sleep-deprived, probably covered in some form of bodily fluid, and just trying to keep a tiny human alive while maintaining your own sanity. The last thing you need is more confusion about whether you're doing everything wrong.

But here's what I've learned after raising five children (including one surprise baby after a vasectomy—life has a sense of humor): The most dangerous thing you can do as a parent is try to please everyone else instead of serving your unique family.

What Makes a Maverick Parent?

Let me be clear about something: being a maverick parent isn't about rebellion for rebellion's sake. It's not about rejecting every mainstream idea or doing things differently just to prove a point. That's not maverick—that's exhausting.

A true maverick parent is someone who evaluates options through their family's unique lens and chooses what serves them best, regardless of whether it's popular or conventional.

To me, a maverick is someone who is willing to do what is right and best for themselves and those they love, even if it's not what society deems "normal," even when the neighbors all say something else, even when you're the only one. You were given a voice inside of you for a reason. Listen and act on it.

The maverick parent understands that:

• Every family is different - What works for your sister's kids might be a disaster for yours
• Context matters - Your work schedule, living situation, and support system all influence what approaches will actually be sustainable
• You know your children best - You're the one up at 2 AM, you know their temperaments, you see their responses to different approaches
• Consistency trumps perfection - It's better to commit fully to an approach that's 80% perfect for your family than to constantly switch between methods that work better for other families

When John and I discovered Babywise, it resonated with something deep in our souls. We craved structure in the chaos of new parenthood, and the Wake-Eat-Play-Sleep rhythm gave us exactly that. But implementing it meant going against some popular parenting advice of the time.

That's when I learned my family motto, which still mortifies my kids today: "You can't ride two horses with one ass."

Crude? Maybe a little. True? Absolutely.

The Power of Choosing Your Horse

This saying became our family's North Star because it captures something essential about effective parenting: you can't do everything well simultaneously.

For us, choosing our "horse" meant committing fully to the Babywise approach rather than trying to blend it with attachment parenting principles, or mixing in elements from other sleep training methods, or constantly second-guessing ourselves based on the latest parenting trend.

It meant:

• Waking our babies for scheduled feedings even when well-meaning relatives gasped in horror
• Maintaining consistent bedtimes even when it meant leaving social gatherings early
• Trusting the process even during growth spurts when everything felt temporarily chaotic
• Standing firm in our approach when other parents shared their (very different) success stories

And you know what? All five of my babies slept through the night by 8-10 weeks old. Not because I'm some sort of baby whisperer, but because we chose our approach and rode it well.

This principle extended far beyond sleep schedules. When we chose a discovery-based educational approach for our children, we committed to driving past the neighborhood elementary school every morning to reach the school that aligned with our values. When Max wanted to race his plasma car down our steep driveway, we required a helmet and let him learn spatial awareness through managed risk rather than eliminating all adventure.

Each decision required the maverick mindset: What serves OUR family best, not what looks safest or most popular?

Maverick Moments: Real Stories from the Trenches

Some of my proudest parenting moments have been the ones where we chose the less traveled path:

The Pirate Day That Wasn't: When my oldest convinced me it was "Dress Like a Pirate Day" at school (it wasn't), we sent all three kids in full costume anyway. Instead of being embarrassed, the school loved it so much they made it an official tradition. Sometimes maverick choices create magic.

The Allergy Discovery: Our consistent meal routines helped us quickly identify Leo's severe allergies to peanuts, eggs, and dairy. I'll never forget the day I literally slapped a peanut butter sandwich out of his hands after getting the doctor's call. Our systems helped us spot patterns and respond quickly to keep him safe.

The Teddy Adventure: When our surprise fifth child arrived with Down syndrome, our established family systems proved flexible enough to accommodate his unique needs while maintaining the security all our children depended on. We didn't abandon our approach—we adapted it, proving that good systems bend rather than break.

The Educational Expedition: While forty-five kids on our street walked to the neighborhood public school each morning, our loaded minivan headed in the opposite direction to a discovery-based program that aligned with our values. It meant longer commutes and explaining our choice to confused neighbors, but it was right for our family.

Each of these moments required the courage to stand in our convictions, even when it meant standing alone.

The Maverick Parent's Decision Filter

Over the years, I've developed six questions that help me evaluate any parenting decision through our family's unique lens:

1. Am I making this choice because it works for OUR family, or because it's what's expected?

2. Does this approach align with my deepest values and priorities for this season of parenting?

3. Will this decision bring more peace or more chaos into our home?

4. Can I implement this consistently, even on the hard days when I'm exhausted?

5. Would I still make this choice if no one else knew about it?

6. In five years, will this matter? Will my child remember this specific decision, or will they remember the overall feeling of our home?

These questions have saved me from countless people-pleasing decisions I would have later regretted. They've helped me distinguish between choices that serve my family and choices that serve my ego or my desire to fit in.

When you're feeling pressured to follow a particular approach—whether it's the latest sleep training method, educational philosophy, or discipline strategy—run it through this filter. The answers will guide you toward decisions that align with your family's unique needs rather than someone else's expectations.

Grace for the Maverick Journey

Here's what I want every parent to know: being a maverick doesn't mean being perfect. Some of the choices I made with confidence turned out to need adjustment. Some of the systems we implemented required tweaking as our children grew and changed.

And that's okay.

The maverick mindset isn't about making perfect decisions; it's about making intentional decisions and having the courage to adjust course when needed. It's about trusting yourself enough to try something different, wise enough to evaluate whether it's working, and gracious enough to admit when it's time for a change.

Your maverick journey might look completely different from mine. Maybe your "horse" is a different educational approach, a different feeding philosophy, or a different way of structuring family life. What matters isn't that you follow my exact path—it's that you have the confidence to forge your own.

Remember: There is no perfect parent, but there is a perfect parent for YOUR unique children. Trust yourself to be that person.

Building Your Maverick Confidence

If you're ready to embrace the maverick parent mindset, start here:

Identify your family's core values. What matters most to you? Connection? Independence? Adventure? Security? Let these values guide your decisions rather than popular opinion.

Practice the decision filter. The next time you're facing a parenting choice that feels overwhelming, work through those six questions. Write down your answers. Trust what emerges.

Find your tribe. Seek out other parents who respect different approaches rather than insisting everyone do things the same way. The goal isn't to find people who parent exactly like you, but people who support your right to parent authentically.

Start small. You don't have to revolutionize your entire parenting approach overnight. Choose one area where you've been following others' expectations rather than your instincts, and try something different.

Extend grace to yourself. The maverick path can feel lonely sometimes. Remember that you're not just making individual parenting decisions—you're modeling authenticity and courage for your children. That's a gift that will serve them long after they've forgotten the specific rules of your household.

Being a maverick parent isn't always easy, but it's always worth it. When you parent from a place of authentic conviction rather than external pressure, you create something beautiful: a family culture that's uniquely yours, built on intention rather than accident.

Your children don't need you to be perfect. They need you to be present, purposeful, and brave enough to trust your instincts. They need you to be their maverick.

Ready to embrace your inner maverick parent? Start with one small decision this week that serves your family rather than others' expectations. Trust me—your future self (and your children) will thank you.

What's one maverick choice you've made as a parent? Share it in the comments below—let's celebrate the courage it takes to chart our own course.