Competitive Mothering
This article I just read hit such a nail at the right spot that I just have to share it. As if cat fights in PR agencies are not scary enough, we women just enjoy making life difficult for ourselves even as mothers. Yes, it’s always so frustrating when we mothers get all competitive (and defensive) about our parenting styles. I get it ALL the time in China, especially about the breastfeeding part. Well-meaning ayis and grannies will tell me to stop breastfeeding Rachel cos the “milk is not nutritious anymore” (没有营养了!). And when they see skinny Rachel (这么小，这么瘦）they’ll use it to reinforce their point. I’ll give them the leave-me-alone-and-BTW-me-don’t-understand-Chinese kind of reply. Sometimes I do get defensive and I’ll debate with a stranger ayi right there and then, at the playground, until she agrees with me that breastmilk is good for babes and toddlers equally.
So mummies, let’s be kind to one another, cos being a mommy is hard enough, and the comparison is never going to be good for anyone, not yourself or your kid.
