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Challenge: Stop Mom Judging

The Term Mommy War is Insulting. I'm Not At War With Anyone.

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I'm tired of the term, "Mommy Wars" because I don’t feel like I’m at war with anyone. And, my guess is that the average mom feels the same way.

In fact, I think the term mommy wars is overused. Sure, we can see extreme articles written on hot topic issues and they are full of hateful comments that make you think that the “wars” are real. That people really do judge, and spew hate, and say ugly things to people they don’t know. Because they do.

But, I think the majority of moms are not at war with anyone. We’re just doing our own thing. And hoping that we’re getting it right.

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As a writer and blogger and mother, I read a lot of blog posts and articles on mommy issues. And, what I keep feeling over and over as I read one article, supposedly in opposition to another, is that we’re not at war at all. We’re all just sensitive.

Because mothering, is something none of us want to get wrong. Period.

Some of us fall into motherhood naturally, while others of us struggle with our own identity crisis of sorts. And none of us want to get it wrong. Because none of us want to mess up these little humans that have been entrusted to us. And ALL of us, just want to make the right choices for our kids.

So we take to the internet, the place that can unite a mother in the Phillipines, with a mother in the United States, and connect them. We can feel in those moments of connectedness through social media that we aren’t alone in this vast world of parents trying to get it right. The fact that someone in another country struggles to get their toddler to eat just like I do. It’s comforting. But, the opposite can take a toll on us in an ugly way.

In the moment we feel connected, we can also feel so alone in our own personal struggle. Perhaps, we might read a beautiful viral blog post or article and disagree 100%, we suddenly feel the need to defend, protect, and speak up to what we believe about mothering. Not because we’re at war. But, because we love our kids. And we want to get it right, and maybe we want to help others feel like they’re getting it right too, even if they’re doing it different.

And, in the technology age that we are raising our kids in, it’s so easy to defend our choice, write about it, or share an article we love. Parents have never had that before now. But, my guess is, that the mothers before us judged each other too. But, it was usually judgment behind closed doors, or maybe a whisper to their best friend about a neighbor, but nothing like moms experience in this day and age because we’re all too accessible to each other.

But, even the moms from the 50’s that may have judged each other still probably didn’t feel “at war” with anyone. They just felt sensitive about a mom doing it differently. Am I wrong? Why would she do that? Should I be doing that too? are questions we might ask ourselves because we’re insecure. We’ve never done this mothering thing before.

Brene Brown, author of The Gifts of Imperfection said,

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

So let’s be our own true selves as mothers, too. Speak what is true for you, and be real about it. Maybe someone else will be sensitive to what you share on FB, or what you say about your own choices. But, it’s OK to be the mother you were always meant to be.

But let’s not say we are at war with another mom. We may disagree with another’s voice. We may even write about it on FB or in a blog post, but saying moms are at war just doesn’t give moms the benefit of the doubt that we’re all trying to do our best.

And, I think it’s OK to want to get it right. And, we will for sure doubt ourselves in the process. I know I do all the time. But, when we are sure of our choices, it’s also OK to want to speak up about it. In a kind, civil, adult-like way. As long as we remind ourselves as our fingers are flying across the keyboard in frustration, or anger, that maybe we’re just a little sensitive, too. For our own personal reasons.

And, really, this isn’t about a war at all.

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A version of this post was originally published on Meredith's personal blog, Perfection Pending. For more posts like this one, find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @PerfectPending.

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