Sick of the stigma around mums on social media? Tired of people saying it’s unhealthy and only distracting mothers from their job at hand?
Well, me too! Here’s 5 totally credible reasons social media is not the enemy. It can in fact be a mum’s best friend!
Ahhh mums on social media and parental guilt… that old chestnut. There are a million opinions out there about how it’s ruining our relationships, turning us into robots, causing us to miss all the important real life moments. Or something like that.
Apparently parents are neglecting kids because we’re on our phones at preschool or the park, mushing our kids’ brains from overexposure to technology, and calling for future lawsuits because we’re putting too many embarrassing pics online.
But is it all that bad?
Once we get past the shame (and why do we even feel shame? That’s nuts!) it turns out there’s some excellent things that the Internet offers parents. When using it in moderation (i.e. not ALL the time – you actually have to interact with your kids sometimes, feed them dinner and the like) it can give you tools and advice to help you raise little people well.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”1. Join an Online Mums Group”]
They’re the best! You can ask questions about anything from toilet training to sleep tips to the best wine to reward myself with after a long day. There’s a level of camaraderie that helps you navigate those challenging parenting moments, and the amount of experience and insight offered by other mums is invaluable.
You can be honest, supported, and understood. Finding a local group helps you discover services nearby and connect personally with mothers in your area. The mums groups I’m involved with have helped so much and kept me sane.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”2. Follow Some Inspirational Mamas”]
I love reading the candid, hilarious thoughts of some well-known mums on social media. For me this is the wonderful Em Rusciano and Constance Hall. It’s reassuring to hear their recounts of the tricky and the glorious moments of parenting, and I always feel encouraged to embrace the good, the bad, and the ugly of motherhood by their posts. Whoever inspires you, find their pages and follow their journey.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”3. Read Some Great Parenting Pages – Learn Stuff!”]
Like Mum Central (hint hint!), parenting pages are excellent resources to keep you connected with current research, news and advice on everything you need to know about parenting. Follow pages that have a fun and frank approach to raising kids in order to inspire your own parenting style.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”4. Find Some Bargains on Buy Swap Sell Pages”]
Once you get past that new-mum pressure to buy everything new (and expensive) for your babe, you realise that there’s a whole world of pre-loved goodness out there that can be kind to your wallet (and save the planet thanks to your recycling). Furniture, clothing, toys, and other second hand baby goods can easily be found on local buy swap sell pages that can help you get everything you need for your kids within a reasonable budget. Of course get to the other end and these pages are killer for offloading the gear you don’t need and earning yourself some mum’s spending money!
[mc_block_title custom_title=”5. Connect with Friends When You’re in the Throes of Eternal Sickness / Endless Night Feeds / General Moments of Insanity”]
When my toddler nicked a highlighter and coloured our brand-new lounge with it, I reached out to my Facebook friends for some sympathy and cleaning advice. I love reading posts about other parents’ adventures with their kids – it helps me laugh at my own character-building moments and empathise with the experiences of others.
Facebook was a godsend on those endless lonely nights with a colicky baby when the rest of the world seemed (cruelly) asleep. And those times we’ve had endless stretches of recycled illness in our household, I’ve been able to still connect with lifeline-friends without sharing the germy love. It’s brilliant.
[mc_block_title custom_title=”Bonus point: Happy Women Make for Happier Mums”]
You know that whole thing about the best mums are happy mums? Well it’s undeniably true. So if a little social media here and there makes your day better, dare we suggest it’s making you a happier parent too?
So embrace all that Facebook and the rest of social media has to offer you, mamas! Connect with other mums on social media, learn from their experiences, and inspire your own parenting from all that they have to offer. There’s a whole wide web out there full of goodness to help you on your parenting way. There’s no guilt in needing some escapism or connectivity during your parenting journey, everything in moderation we say. So log in and enjoy!
