Smug Neighbor Shames Mom for Using Her Car to Soothe Her Children to Sleep

If you've ever had a child who struggles with falling or staying asleep, you know the desperation that comes with this particular parenting battle. You'll do anything to help them (and, TBH, yourself) get some more shut-eye. You may even do things you told yourself you'd never do, like co-sleeping or sleep training...or loading your child into the car for a drive to help lull them to sleep.

One mom—who reportedly hasn't had a decent night of sleep in six years (yikes!) does just that. It seems to work: Her son naps for an hour and a half and wakes up immediately when the car is not running.

But the mom's neighbor isn't on board with the mom's method of calming her child. The neighbor wrote her a note—and we're going to say it: This is definitely sancti-mommy behavior.

"I like most of your neighbours walk by your house a couple of times a day and notice that you have your car running constantly...while I understand that you use your car to soothe or put your child to sleep, I am sure you must understand the damage you are doing to the environment," the neighbor writes, according to a snapshot of the note shared on Daily Mail. "'If you truly cared for your children you would care about the environment you are leaving them in the long term and not just your short-term convenience and comfort."

Is the neighbor making a valid point? In some ways, sure. There is an environmental impact of regularly running a car for long stretches of time. But no one has any idea what parents are dealing with in their homes. Dealing with a child who just won't sleep is incredibly hard. And as a parent, you do what you need to do...and you deserve not to be judged or shamed.

Unfortunately, this mom was judged and shamed by the neighbor.

"I have raised three children and have never had to resort to driving or using a vehicle to put my child to sleep," the neighbor adds. Um, good for you? "I understand being a parent isn't easy but taking short cuts that damage our planet is not an acceptable course of action by any standard," the neighbor continues.

The mom posted the note on Facebook, according to Daily Mail, and she reportedly added the caption: "When I find out who this is they are seriously going to regret starting a war with me."

We're going to side with the mom on this one. Being a parent is so tough, and every child responds to something different—and every parent has the right to decide how to soothe their child without this sort of rude, intrusive feedback from an anonymous neighbor.