Article: My Rock-Bottom Mom Moment Caught on Camera
I just read this article, and while I agree that it's great for parents to show and discuss their not-so-perfect moments, I don't think the overall tone of this piece really delivers on the supposed message that, as parents, we have low moments, but aren't necessarily bad parents because of them.
To give a quick synopsis, there is a picture of her three kids--the infant being fed by the six-year-old while he watches something on an iPad, and the oldest sitting in the baby carrier while she watches something on an iPad. She did this so she could keep them occupied and get ready for an evening out. The picture is funny, but I would hardly call this a "rock bottom" moment. I call it "life with kids." I mean, you can see some version of this scene DAILY around our house (and we only have two kids). The title of the piece made me roll my eyes, but her closing paragraph flat out annoyed me:
"Bottom line: I think it's important for moms to share the "doing-whatever-it-takes" moments as well as the Pinterest-inspired, picture-perfect ones. Would I have posted this on Facebook? Um, no. Am I proud of it? Not really. But I’m taking one for the mom team and throwing myself under the bus here so that other moms can feel better about some of their own subpar parenting. You’re welcome."
Well, thanks so much, but I neither think you are throwing yourself "under the bus," nor is this what I call "rock bottom." Let me enlighten you on rock bottom...
A rock bottom moment is when you yell at your 10-month-old to "shut up," because it's 4:30am, you've had two hours of sleep, you're battling a severe cold, and you're petrified that he's going to wake your two-year-old.
A rock bottom moment is when you call your two-year-old "a little brat" to HER FACE, after you've spent the day battling her and listening to her scream and you just lose your sh*t for two seconds and forget you're the adult and she's ONLY TWO.
A rock bottom moment is when you've had a really hard week and find yourself running to the grocery at 9:30pm and instead of going over your list in your head you're thinking, "What if I just don't go back?"
A rock bottom moment is when you shut yourself in the hall pantry so you can pound your fists and stomp your feet and throw one hell of a temper tantrum without your kids seeing you (but, I will give myself points for having the forethought not to let them witness it).
These are things that I truly am not proud of. These are things that make me question my parenting. These are the things that I have to forgive myself for and then try to do better the next day. Giving my kids a little screen time, so I can get showered and dressed for a party? That's just keeping sane.
While the gesture of the article is nice, the example kind of sucked and definitely didn't make me feel better as a parent. Her "subpar" parenting is my daily parenting. So if that's her standard, I guess I am a looooooong way from the "Pinterest-inspired, picture-perfect" kind of parenting. And that's okay. And I still get it right way more than I get it wrong. And I'm still a good mom.
You do get it right! One look at your kids and you can tell they are happy and thriving. Even though they have decided that sleep is overrated and get hit with WAY more ear infections and random illnesses than anyone probably ever told you would be possible. PS, I completely agree with your assessment of the "rock bottom" post.
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