yes. mommy bloggers add value

If you haven't already seen it, Michelle Obama went off on Mommy Bloggers in a recent interview. She brought a valid point, which was, "show me your end result".

I feel this. Even as someone who writes about parenting, reads all the books, follows the top docs, and listens to parenting podcasts, we know we are all just winging it.. (Don't tell my kids.) She has a very fair point. There are plenty of books written by people who have purportedly, "won parenting". Their children are all C-level executives, or have all won countless awards, or are known for their limitless humanitarian work. Sure, I'll read that.

However.

I think we are very lucky to be in the days of readily available win-sharing.

Sure, those mommas who raised "winners" did great. They also have blocked out how impossible and mind-numbingly busy it is to manage a toddler all day. These parents didn't have to worry about sending children to school. Or endured the unending debate about YouTube access or social media. Sure, what happens in other family's homes has always been a conversation, but the world is entirely different now.

Of course, my dear Boomer mommas, you have given us value. You have done the Lion's share of work in raising us humans in a pre-technology world. Many of us millennials are desperate to preserve some aspects of our Instagram-free childhoods. We also, lovingly, take your advice with a grain of salt. Because the world you raised us in no longer exists.

Parenting is not easy. It is soul-wrenchingly hard work with terrible hours and questionable financial benefits. You don't know this until you are in it. Anyone who has anything helpful and positive to share deserves to do so.

New mommas, I will absolutely read your blog about how you are tempering screen time use in 2025. Or what your updated emergency plan is for Disney World. Or what hacks you have for delaying a phone with your teenager. I will gladly listen to anyone who has solved any kind of problem; whether it's applying sunscreen to your toddler or how to hack Spirit week, I'm here for all of it.

I might not have raised Olympic level swimmers (yet?... jk probably won't), but I do know that if they are signed up for the same hour of swim lesson at the Y I can watch them from the hot tub while my toddler is in childcare. Which makes the rest of the day feel a lot better than if I did so from the bleachers.

So for what it's worth, I'm going to share what I confided in my MIL when my only baby was very little. I'm going to only enact on the advice that fits my life. I am not going to follow a parenting trend for the sake of it. Having three kids means I'm parenting three entirely different people. I am not going to feel guilty or like a failure if what worked for them doesn't work for us. Neither should anyone.

Parenting for the world you live in has value. Please continue to share anything that makes your lives easier. I'd love to hear and share it.