Thank you ryivhnn! I was hoping my post would get a reply and fresh perspective such as this. Too often I get locked into my own way of thinking and I can justify just about any thought that goes through my head. So I really appreciate everything you wrote.

Since I'm living in a foreign country, I often ask my friends back home to email me their parenting stories. It helps me learn as I can't talk to all the parents here because of the language barrier (laziness on my part for not learning the local language better). I hope to write some more parenting blogs and I look forward to any insight you can give me. Cheers!