The Holderness Family Once Again Proves That Viral Parenting Videos Make Us All Look Bad

I’m sure the Holderness family is perfectly sweet and I would likely get along with them if I knew them personally but I just can’t deal with these viral parenting videos anymore. They perpetuate every stupid (and mildly offensive) cliche that the world already holds about parents of small children and it makes us all look bad. Behold the newest dispatch from The Land Of Holdernai- it is Super Bowl-themed and every bit as cringe-inducing as their usual fare:

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Just…no. I would never be all “teehee” if my kid flung Hidden Valley Ranch on someone’s $80 Ann Taylor cardigan. In fact, my kid would never have the opportunity to do so because when we are at someone else’s house and they are eating something messy, we are supervising them closely. It makes us all look like careless “breeders” to suggest that any parent would let their kid buzz around the dip bowl without supervision while we giggle and shrug helplessly. For most of us, it just doesn’t happen that way because we make an effort for it not to.

And of course, it is not just the Holderness family suggesting to the rest of the world that parents really are this obnoxious and self-absorbed. Cliche-ridden, parenting viral videos are all the rage now. There’s this woman who manages to work a line about her muffin top into a crappy parody of All About That Bass. Then, there is the one with the mom explaining why she’s a shitty friend now– because she has kids and no longer makes time for her friends. Might I add how silly this is because if she has time to produce a super glossy viral video, she probably has time to return a text. She’s also behind the lame remake of I’m So Fancy, only it’s about being So Pregnant. Sigh.

This stuff really isn’t funny. At all. Sure, there might be a few chuckles in there but overall, it just makes the world continue to believe what a lot of us fight against- the fact that not all parents are like this. We don’t all sit around whining about the messes our kids make and how we have no free time. We don’t all feel the need to turn every pop culture event into something kid-related. Some of us care about things beyond the lives we have because of our kids but these videos would suggest otherwise.

I know that they are entertaining to some but all I see is more material for people without kids to keep in mind when they roll their eyes at me and pray that I don’t show up to their social event. I swear, I am not this cliche or this lame. As a single woman, I didn’t find cliches about “desperate” women who just want an engagement ring funny and as a parent, I feel the same way about the dumb stereotypes surrounding us. So many parents try hard to keep in mind that our lives with kids aren’t nearly as interesting to the rest of the world as they are to us and we act accordingly.

As a parent, I promise- if I take my kids to your Super Bowl party or other adult event, they will not be stealing the remote and changing it to Dora. And if they do, I will discipline them immediately and apologize. I also won’t take a perfectly good pop song and turn it into some stupid ditty about post-baby bodies and “basic moms” addicted to Starbucks lattes. It’s not all about us as parents and making jokey videos suggesting that we think it is does not help the cause. Rise above, fellow parents. We are better than this.

(Video and Image: YouTube/SheKnows Media)

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