10 Dumb Things People Think About ‘Mommy Bloggers’ That Are Wrong

shutterstock_147963059I’m a mommy blogger. Mommy bloggers are my people. Lately I have been noticing that people like to use the term “Mommy Blogger” as an insult, because having kids and then writing about issues dealing with kids and parenting is pretty much the worst thing ever. True, there were times in my life, mainly before I had kids of my own, that I had zero interest in many parenting topics, teething, bedwetting, why do babies on occasion have terrifying diapers that look like the Creature From The Black Lagoon vomited in them, but back in those days blogging wasn’t even a thing. I just didn’t read parenting books (which were the blogs back in the day) like the same way I don’t read things that don’t interest me now, like blogs about insects or ones that feature cartoon character fan fiction.

I’m sorry if people find parenting or things that interest parents (wine, House Of Cards, birth order, sex, pacifier reviews) boring, but what annoys me more than that are common misconceptions people have about the people who write about these topics. Mainly:

1: Mommy Bloggers aren’t real writers: 

 

Not everyone can work at The New York Times. And not everyone wants to.  This all depends on what you think a real writer is. Is it the number of books you have published? How long you have been writing for? How many typos or grammatical mistakes you make? I make a lot of errors in my work, spelling errors, grammatical errors, and I know it. But I also think a lot of Mommy Bloggers write engaging and interesting content despite errors. You can teach someone to write technically perfectly, but you cannot teach them how to engage readers or write content people want to read.

2: Mommy Bloggers basically write longer form Facebook posts 

Sure, some write lengthy posts all about what they ate for lunch or where they went on vacation or how little Timmy related hated getting his vaccination, but the majority of Mommy Bloggers write content that will appeal to a wide audience, not just to their family and closest friends.

3: Mommy Bloggers ignore their kids all day 

I don’t know any Mommy Bloggers who are able to actually write unless their kids are at school, napping, asleep at night or occupied with a box of brand new toys. Most of the time I’m working when my own kids are in school, but if they are around when I’m writing it’s amazingly difficult. There is nothing fun about trying to form complete sentences when someone is asking you for a drink or narcing on their sibling every few minutes.

4:Mommy Bloggers have perfect children

pinterest-fails-funny-pictures-dumpaday-17

Yeah, right. I write about the great aspects of parenting as much as the not-so-great. Read enough from any Mommy Blogger and you are bound to find an article where she discusses how her kid dumped the potty seat on the carpet or her kid was sent home with a detention slip or tried to eat the family dog.

5:  Mommy Bloggers think they have all the answers 

Just because a Mommy Blogger spends time writing about parenting doesn’t mean she knows anything more about it than you do. All parents are just basically doing their best.

 6: Mommy Bloggers get free stuff 

I’m sure some Mommy Bloggers get free items to review or invited on fabulous trips so they can write about them, but I never have. I get an occasional book for me to potentially review but even those are few and far between.

7: Mommy Bloggers are super crafty 

 

pinf765

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, having kids does not mean that all of us know what the hell to do with tubes of glitter and glue guns. I have zero crafting skills. I can basically make a hand Turkey, just like your average four-year-old. Not every Mommy Blogger is an excellent chef, photographer, interior designer or school project helper.

8: The only interests we have are our kids

Just because someone put their P in my V and made me have babies doesn’t mean it’s the only interest I have. Yeah, I find kids interesting, but most Mommy Bloggers care about a lot of things other than just their dumb kids. We care about current events and politics and pop culture and media and books and music and movies and all sorts of things. Sometimes our eyes glaze over talking about kids and parenting just like the childfree.

9: Mommy Bloggers are judging you 

Mommy Bloggers aren’t judging you. We don’t care how you raise your kids as long as you aren’t abusing them or neglecting them. OK, we actually are judging you, but only because judging can be fun on occasion and STFU Parents is basically the funniest thing ever and most of the time are laughing because we recognize ourselves in your parenting fails and sanctimommy ways. But when it comes to normal day-to-day parenting stuff, no, we aren’t judging you. Unless you are being an utter dick.

10: Mommy Bloggers think ‘parenting is the most important job in the world’

I think most people agree that if you decide to have a kid, you should do everything in your power to raise a kind, decent, responsible human who does something worthwhile in this great big world. But is it the most important job IN THE WORLD? No. Because there are brain surgeons and teachers and scientists and like the president. It may be the most important job to a parent, but most mommy bloggers don’t consider what they are doing to be the end all be all when it comes to the great big scheme of things. We are just trying to raise these tiny humans into one day being brain surgeons, teachers, scientists and maybe the president.

(Image: bikeriderlondon/shutterstock)

Similar Posts