#RealMumMoments - Mother's Day 2016 Gets Real
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My #RealMumMoments: 3 year old has taken to looking at me, doubtfully, and saying "why are you here, Mummy?"— Anna Johnson (@ohIdoliketobe) March 2, 2016
Getting in actual cot with baby to try and get the little darling to actually sleep just a little bit #RealMumMoments— Vanessa Rinaldi (@VLRinaldi) February 26, 2016
On Twitter, however, things were a bit more cutting. A group called Digital Mums, an organisation that trains women on social media management, put the #RealMumMoments hashtag into operation a few days before Mothering Sunday and before long it was trending like a cat with a bow-tie playing a synthesiser. In space. Mums across the world used it as a banner for their most embarrassing/shocking/generally unbelievable child-care stories, providing an amusing, but sharp reminder that being a parent is almost relentlessly stressful.
Going from organic puree and no sugar to "if you don't finish your chips, you won't get any ice cream" in 9 months. #RealMumMoments— Diane Leeming (@DianeLeeming) February 23, 2016
@DigitalMumsHQ Getting out the shower my 19mth old points and says "large vagina mummy... very large" #RealMumMoments— Alexandra (@mrs_faint) February 22, 2016
The most consistent message of the campaign was just how ridiculous kids can be, both verbally and behaviorally, almost everyone has at least one story about overhearing a kid say something so unintentionally poignant/brutal/sordid that it was worth of inscription on a plaque in some weird museum, and such vernacular is almost always targeted at one or both of the parents.
When you're on a bus & tell your son he cant have any of your diet coke because its special mummy juice and he says 'wine?' #RealMumMoments— Cessally Collison (@Cessally) February 24, 2016
Beyond that, others have shared almost nightmarish tales of their children breaking things, throwing tantrums, turning food into abstract artwork and generally embracing their inner gremlin. This is the first Mother's Day trend I've ever seen that almost seems to serve as a discouragement against having children. That probably wasn't the intent, but it couldn't hurt, we're living in a world where getting a tattoo seems to be regarded as a more contentious decision than having a baby.
When your 3 year old declares loudly in tesco: "Daddy has a willy, Mummy doesn't have a willy she just has loads of hair" #RealMumMoments— Becs @ Fi&BecsDesign (@becsjeffery) March 3, 2016
The real point of all this was more to highlight just how easy it is to make things look clean, wholesome and incident free on social media. It's a well documented phenomenon, especially on Facebook and Instagram, but motherhood has its own private island of misrepresentation, not necessarily because new mothers post more, but because those posts are almost hardwired to get more likes and comments, pushing them to the top of the news feed, and the more cutesy the picture/sentiment, the more true that is. You'd hardly expect to see an image of a freshly defiled nappy turning up on Facebook, but new mothers see just as much of that as they see all those adorable emotive quirks.
If you would like to learn more about Digital Mums, visit their website here.
Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @CallumAtSMF
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#RealMumMoments - Mother's Day 2016 Gets Real
Reviewed by Unknown
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Monday, March 07, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, March 07, 2016
Rating:
Unknown
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