Why I Hate Pinterest, and Social Media Moms

 *I want to make this perfectly clear: This is my opinion. It is how I feel. If you haven't noticed I treat this blog like an online diary and share my thoughts and feelings with you not expecting anybody to agree or disagree with any of it*

I may just be one of a very few women who do not obsess over the internet phenomenon that is Pinterest. In fact I avoid the thing like the plague. Oh yeah, I looked at it. Then I started feeling unbelievably guilty.

It's not really Pinterest, or social media that I hate, it's the idea of perfection. It's the judgement. It's the sense of failure. The internet has made a mom's job more difficult than it has ever been. We are constantly connected to all of these fantastic ideas and excellent (or not so excellent) advice from moms all over the world. You would think it's a great thing. Not for me.

There is a general "feel" to the internet mom community now. The current trend is to be green, healthy, super involved in your kids lives, and make crafty little things. Some call it the "granola movement" or "crunchy parenting". Honestly I reserve those terms for the most extreme but the feel is the same. If you log onto any mommy or parenting site you're bound to be overwhelmed with natural this, organic that.

I get how society works, a predominate mood will prevail for awhile and slowly but surely it will change to something else. Just like once upon a time long, long ago Dr. Ferber was the baby guru...it's now Dr. Sears. Now, the problem I have with the internet mom community and sites like Pinterest is they set an impossible standard and judge you when you fall short.

Moms are told that formula contains horrible poisons, and under no circumstances should she give it to her baby. Giving a baby formula is akin to filling the bottle with Dran-O instead. They are told they should have tried harder to breastfeed, that they didn't do something right to succeed. Along the same lines they are told jarred baby food is just like giving your baby McDonalds and you might as well just turn yourself over to child services right now if you aren't making every bite of food that baby eats from organic kale and sweet potatoes. Heaven help you if you let your child cry it out after rocking, feeding, loving, snuggling, singing ect. fail.

We are shown pretty pictures of perfect birthday parties that probably cost hundreds, if not more, and hours upon hours of your time. Then we feel pressured to live up to the "pinterest mom" who has a candy bar, cake pops, and a professional decorator at their kids first birthday party.

The point I'm making here is: Moms, don't let the internet change who you are. I'm guilty of it, big time. I've beat myself up over some of the stupidest things. I've agonized over how Roxas won't have a birthday party worthy of the almighty Pinterest. Tortured myself every time I think about how few meals I've actually cooked for him and how many came out of jars. Felt shame feeding him a bottle of formula. Then it was actually Kenny who said something that really opened my eyes.

Sure, I may not be Pinterest worthy but you know what? I'm busy. I spend more time in school than out these days, plus take care of Roxas, keep the house clean, and oh yeah...build another human in my womb. Instead of spending hours slaving away over a handmade birthday banner I'm spending it playing blocks with Roxas. Sure I'd love to feed Roxas all organic, home cooked meals but you know what? We can't afford it for one and I just don't have the time. I would have loved to nurse Roxas until one year but it just wasn't in the plan for my body and I need to deal with that.

I need to accept that I am a good mom. I love my son, and my unborn daughter. They don't care that I didn't make the cookies from scratch. They don't care that I hand knit that blanket. They just care about my love, time, and attention. That is what matters. That is what is important. Not making something perfect enough for the internet, because the harsh truth is...nothing will ever be good enough for them. If your children are growing, thriving and happy...you are a doing your job and that IS good enough.