The first one is a video from Similac that you can watch on this link.
In case you were too lazy to actually watch the video, it's about a bunch of groups of moms (and dads) all judging each other until they eventually came together for the good of the child. A lot of people really loved this video. That's fine. Admittedly it has a good message in the end. Here's the problem with it: they portray the real problem as being that moms judge each other. The real problem is actually that moms think they are all judging each other.
Before I go into this, let me get this out of the way: it's also highly inaccurate. Stay-at-home moms don't dress like that. I have never worn a sweater around my shoulders. Try throwing in an outfit they've worn for the third day in a row because they haven't seen anyone they know. Also, I'm pretty sure that stay-at-home dads don't get together and have baby-wearing barbecues in the park all the time. I'm pretty sure stay-at-home dads are too busy dreaming of the day when all their kids are in school so they can have the entire lego set to themselves.
Anyways, in my whopping five years as a parent, I've received my fair share of judgement. But what I've seen a TON more of is people shoving "studies" (which are most often Buzzfeed lists) in your face "defending" their parenting methods, because they think everyone else is judging them. News flash: nobody cares.
It's an easy trap to fall into. Do you know how many times I've felt the need to explain to people why I'm supplementing with formula instead of exclusively breastfeeding? At least a dozen. And do you know how many times anyone has responded by saying, "Oh good, I was about to think you were a terrible parent, but this changes everything!"? Zero. Because nobody actually thought I was a terrible parent because they saw me whip out a bottle instead of a breast. And if I had a nickel for every time someone I know has taken offense to someone telling them "you have your hands full," I would have like, 30 cents. No one is judging you.
So instead of watching some heart-warming commercial that promotes stereotypes and then pretends to see past them, I think we should all just take a deep breath and say out loud, "No one is judging my parenting. It's all in my head." Seriously, try it. It's liberating.
And here's the other thing I've seen going around:
Can we please stop pretending that we feel guilty about these things? Or that we even should feel guilty about these? I realize this chart is trying to poke fun at this, but I rolled my eyes more than anything. Do you know what happens when you feed your kids pizza for dinner? They eat their dinner without complaining. Do you know what happens when you get an epidural? You don't threaten to kill your husband. Also, hiding in the bathroom is a rite of passage, not something to be ashamed of. I have bed head and pajama pants almost every day at pickup, and I couldn't care less if the other parents think I'm lazy, because they're probably just jealous that I get to take naps.
I don't feel bad about yelling at my kids. I don't do it that often, and when I do, it's because of something like Violet locked herself and my keys in the car while I was unloading the groceries and when I told her to unlock the door she stuck her tongue out at me and told me I had to say the secret password.
And lastly, if my kid is emotionally scarred because I looked at my phone at the park instead of watching him go down the slide for the 18th time, then he clearly has other issues.
