In putting together Seaside’s first annual Kids Issue, my thoughts naturally turned toward Mother’s Day.
I’m a “twice-a-week mom” to my lovely stepdaughter, but I can only imagine the pressure that comes with being a full-time mother.
When we were growing up, my mom seemed almost superhuman: there was a homemade meal on the table every night (always with a salad on the side), elaborate cakes every birthday and hand-sewn Halloween costumes every fall. I honestly don’t know how she did it. Now, my mom admits she wishes she’d worried less about being perfect, and what others thought of our family, and just enjoyed being a mom while we were growing up.
Today, social media has taken being a supermom to even more unachievable new heights – specifically, the image-sharing site Pinterest (www.pinterest.com). Most of you will know what I’m talking about; for those who don’t, it’s basically a website where you can look up, and share, ideas for everything from recipes to paint colours to ways to make your garden grow the perfect tomato.
It’s a helpful and amazing social media platform, don’t get me wrong; I love it. However, in the past little while I’ve noticed many articles, blogs and Facebook posts on the subject of “Pinterest Pressure.”
From www.huffingtonpost.com: “Pinterest in particular is stressing out close to half of moms, according to a TODAY Moms survey of over 7,000 mothers across the country. Pinterest culture can generate feelings of inadequacy by creating a pressure to throw elaborate birthday parties, attempt intimidating DIYs and bake picture-perfect cupcakes. Comparing the less pristine reality of motherhood to the polished sheen of online images may cause moms to worry about falling short if their culinary or crafting skills don’t seem to measure up.”
The article goes on to say that the pressure, surprisingly, doesn’t come from other moms: it’s self-inflicted. I get that. I have often fallen prey to the notion that everything created by my own two (decidedly non-crafty) hands will turn out exactly as it looks on Pinterest. I guess the key is to let go of the idea that we have to be perfect moms. Whether we’re baking, attempting to create a princess costume or planting our first vegetable garden, we’re spending time with our kids, learning and trying something new, and that should be our only goal, no matter what we end up with when we’re finished.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the super moms out there!
