Imagine something so fulfilling and joyous yet frustrating and defeating. That’s motherhood. It’s a beautiful thing. But sometimes, you just wanna scream.
The jaw-dropping, pearl-clutching audacity to say something like that. Let’s talk about honest motherhood. This may or may not be your reality, but it is for many moms.
"Humanize moms. I really want us, us meaning the world, to move away from thinking that we get to slap these labels on moms.”
Often as moms, we're shunned or bashed for vocalizing certain things that we deal with every day. I've been a mom for almost 15 years, I can say that every moment and every day has not been rosy, fun, exciting, and happy-go-lucky and the world smells like flowers type-thing.
Kids in the Grocery Store
What's the thing kids do at the grocery store? They pick up stuff, ask can they have something, or they sneak it in the cart. If you tell your kids NO or stop repeatedly people might think wow that's a mean mama, you're not supposed to talk to your kids like that.
I used to wonder what that was like as I’ve witnessed many moms in this situation. Then I became a mom and had my own moments. Now when I see a mom distracted from grocery shopping because she’s dealing with her kids, I’m reminded that we all share these similar struggles!
Humanize Moms
Moms, have you ever had that feeling like my kids get on my damn nerves?! OMG, these kids are driving me crazy! It doesn't mean that you love your kids or kids any less. It means that you're human and have emotions just like everybody else in the world.
Society tends to put this cape around our necks as mothers and put us in this category of being SUPERMOM and we can do it all and juggle it all. Humanize moms. I really want us, us meaning the world, to move away from thinking that we get to slap these labels on moms.
Listen to Episode 36 of The WERKin' Mommas podcast.
Paid Leave. Period.
The societal norm in the United States is 6 weeks of paid leave for working moms. I realize there are countries that have far better paid family leave laws and they are more embracing and empathetic of parents, working parents. I recently heard about the paid leave benefits in Denmark and it blew me away!
So here in the United States, the norm is 42 days for your body to recover or “snap back” from bringing a human into the world that took you about 270 or so days to create. We already have a return-to-work date before the baby’s umbilical cord falls off.
So here in the United States, the norm is 42 days for your body to recover or “snap back” from bringing a human into the world that took you about 270 or so days to create. We already have a return-to-work date before the baby’s umbilical cord falls off.
Raising Children
Everybody has their different ways of parenting, and nobody can really criticize or try to instruct a mom or dad on how to be fulfill their roles as parents. If you have strategies, communications, and things that work in your household for your kids, then do what works for you and don't feel like you have to become something that you're not, change who you are, or conform to what this world thinks we should be simply because we chose to have children.
Effective communication skills, nutrition, and the way we handle conflict - I put these things in the category of learned behaviors. So, I wanted my kids to understand that there is a healthy way to communicate, there’s a healthy way to eat, to learn how to lose.
Communication Skills and Kids
I want my kids to understand that they have a voice, a point of view and they should never silence that for anybody. No matter who’s in the room, if you have a voice, if you feel inclined to speak, then speak up because silenced kids grow up to be silenced adults who don't know how to express themselves, who don't know how to speak up when it's their turn or when they should.
Let’s continue this conversation. Mom life looks different for each of us but in many ways it’s the same.
Let's Chat
How do you deal with those days when your kids get on your nerves? What are some things that you want to share in your own experiences as a mother? Your perspective could inspire another mom.
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