I had to laugh when I read online today, the article in the Daily Mail that Mummy bloggers are talking about and responding to and yes in true blogger network form, I have jumped on the band wagon. But only in as much to say “so blinking what?“… I did like the reference to Gin Lane though.
Who cares if a mother feeds their children fish fingers or coq au vin for their evening meals? Who cares if I say a rude word, once in a while. Who cares if I drink gin and tonic at 9pm whilst I catch up with my Sky box sets? I am not claiming to be a slummy mummy as the Daily Mail journalist describes it. Equally I am not claiming to be Mother Teresa. I am certainly not a best selling author either. I am not an author at all, regardless of the best selling part! But you see my point, don’t you? Mothers clearly cannot swear, drink Gin or feed their children frozen goodies!!!
I am just a normal person. Normal Mummy. I work 30 hours a week. I have a good job. I have a husband. I have pets. I have a house to maintain. More importantly, I have two children to feed, clean and entertain. Not only that but I have to keep them safe, make them aware of the world around them and make sure they develop into normal people too. I can still drink a Gin, tonic and lime, elderflower is my favourite actually, swear on the odd occasion and feed the children fish fingers.
Normal people, like me, feed their children fish fingers or pizza and chips. It’s what the children want. If I ask my children what they want for dinner, they say fish fingers and chips 95% of the time. Even if they had it for dinner the night before or lunch that very day. They know what they like and they complain when you try to give them something other than fish fingers. But that doesn’t make me a slummy Mummy. Nor does that make me arrogant. It’s just how it is when you have school aged children, that eat food at school and talk to their friends.
When Noah was a baby, I did the normal thing of puree fruits and vegetables. Noah enjoyed his fromage frais and pureed goodness. When he got older he enjoyed lumpy spaghetti bolognese and munching his way through a pear. It is only when he started school that he started to use his voice and demand his fish fingers. I have just come to the conclusion that is what most 6 year old boys ask for.
I have commented once or twice throughout my blog about how frustrating things can be as a parent. Again, I think thats natural. No one tells you when you are pregnant with your first born that you will spend hours crying and miserable when your boobs harden up because the feeding has gone wrong. Or how you will spend hours at night crying because you are just simply tired. It’s mother nature. It’s normal. Having a new born is a new world, it’s challenging and it’s rewarding. Not everyday is happy or perfect. In fact I remember reflecting back on my time with baby Noah, days would be up and down throughout the week. All dependent on how much sleep I had had, how much social interaction I had and also how much fresh air I had.
I do not think for one second that new mums are reading blog posts and thinking “oh no, what have I let myself in for“. In fact they are probably having a laugh. In my personal opinion, as with all pregnancies, each child is different. Each parent will have different challenges. Each parent and their child will have different highs and lows. It shouldn’t be the meal choices that determine how well a parent is doing! Or Gin. Or swearing…
It doesn’t matter what one Mum is doing compared to the other. Some Mums will inspire others and vice versa. That’s all normal. Creative personalities will be more inspired by other creative parents for example. Its the way people work. People will either find the posts funny, or not. It doesn’t mean that they’re right or wrong. Its subjective. I personally find The UnMumsy Mum and Hurrah for Gin funny. The posts make me giggle. Sometimes I do relate to what they say, including the Gin drinking and swearing (OH MY GOSH!). But there are other things I do differently. So what? They are not going to email me and attack me for not liking their every word. You like what you relate to, what makes you think “I am not the only one”.
Anyway, I have jabbered on long enough. The thing that matters the most is that your children grow up to be happy and know that they are loved. A loved and happy child will grow up feeling secure and rooted. And yes they can still do that whilst eating their fish finger dinners!
Fish finger image by ShutterStock, edited by Sonia Constant.
