Rhonwyn Newson: Hitting back at mean mums

I can't stand logging on to Facebook and seeing those 'inspirational' parenting quotes and memes. You know the ones... "If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money." Or, how about, "Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children."

Argh! Really? Who are these do-gooders posting these messages on social media? And why are they spending time on Facebook and not making memories with their own families?

Mums are prolific users of social media. In fact one study shows stay-at-home mums are more likely to use social media than the average person.

We turn to Facebook groups, forums and Twitter for advice and information.

We buy, swap and sell our way through the mountain of gear that comes with parenthood.

But we are also hugely judgmental. Snide remarks and high-horse comments abound on these mummy 'support' groups. If all the advice was to be followed we'd spend every second of every day making sure our precious little organically clothed and fed angels spent every waking minute being kept stimulated with the latest must-have accessory or educational item.

At night they would sleep soundly without any nightly wake-ups or disturbances.

Ha! My youngest is two years, six months and I still don't count on a full nights' sleep.

When I will have the time to cook all the home-grown produce and make our own flash cards I have no idea.

There are some nights my kids are given a toasted sammie and a cut up apple (or whatever other fruit is in the bowl) for dinner. This actually happens quite often. There are also other occasions when I insist they find something to keep them occupied because I have work to do. Actual work, not 'judging others on Facebook' work.

And, at times, I use technology to keep them occupied. I'm not a perfect parent, and my children aren't perfect either. Thank goodness. That would be an absolutely exhausting expectation to live up to. We're happy and healthy and reaching the milestones we should.

So the next time I see one of those guilt-inducing memes on Facebook, I'm just going to change the text in my head.

So this little gem:

Could become:

Get out of your child's face and let them experience the joy of discovering things for themselves.

- nzherald.co.nz