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Are You a Mompetitor?
Filed under: Opinions
There's something about motherhood that brings out the competitor in us.
Maybe it's all the advice we get, flung at us from every corner. Maybe it's because we're just so darn proud of the fact that we made a person -- from scratch. Maybe it's the media, which steeps us in images of what the ideal mother looks -- and acts -- like.
Whatever it is, we moms sometimes find ourselves engaging in playground games that have us competing for the title of Super Mom -- that's what Parenting.com blogger Erin Zammet Ruddy writes about in her hilarious take on the "competimommy." Nothing gets her quite like the barely-masked disapproval of breast-feeding moms:
"And any time a mom asks me whether I'm nursing and then gets that tsk, tsk, holier-than-thou look on her face when I say no, I want to scream," she writes.
Can we get an amen?
What is it about moms that brings out this side of us? Whether it's making your own homemade, organic baby food, work-at-home moms vs. stay-at-home moms, or whose kid can speak Dutch first, why do we make parenting an Olympic sport?
Related: Mom Milestones: Realizing You're A Good Mom
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
9-28-2010 @ 9:15PM
Jill said...I'm not competitive. I know I'm a better mother than 97% of the mothers out there. No need to compete.
Reply
9-28-2010 @ 9:22PM
Jill said...And I did breast feed all my kids for at least two years. And we have no TV. And they all read before they began school and all play musical instruments. Two play tennis, and all three golf and swim competitively. Of course it helps that we're in an area where there isn't much competition, so they always get to play (swim). So, eat your hearts out, you inferior mothers!
Reply
9-28-2010 @ 9:26PM
Jill said...As you no doubt were able to tell, my kids are all grown now. One's an attorney working for Legal Aid, one a college professor at Tulane University teaching public health, and the third living in Atlanta teaching French in the public schools. So if you want millionaire stockbrokers who will support you in your old age, this is not the approach to take. But I think the world will be a better place for the existence of my three daughters.
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9-28-2010 @ 9:42PM
Jill said...And if you needed further confirmation about the virtues of breastfeeding,on this same site is the article: "People Would Be Nicer If They Got More Cuddling and Breast Milk, Study Says". I couldn't supply the link because that is not permitted on this site, but you can always look it up.
Reply
9-29-2010 @ 7:35PM
Michelle said...Jill, you sound sick, very sick. I feel sorry for your kids. All you talked about is what YOU did as a mother. And yet you never said, "I spent time listening to them and their needs." Or, "I watched them for what what important to them". No, instead it is classic neurotic living through your kids. Sad, sad, sad. No, the fact is, you are not better than 97% of mothers. Because you are judging. And you are flawed so cannot see where you lack as a mother. There was nothing nurturing about your post. And that posted on and on says a lot. Use the empty nest time to get well Jill. Leave your daughters and their kids alone and focus on healing. You must have had a horrible childhood. It's never too late to fix it! God speed.
9-30-2010 @ 2:43AM
jessica said...I truly wish there were more "Jill's" in the world. Most children are capable of success but few ever achieve it. Involved parenting is the key to raising such wonderful adults! Jill you should be VERY proud. Thank you for not raising a low life who ended up in our judicial system.
9-29-2010 @ 2:34PM
Josie said...You go Jill! Bout to become a first time mommy myself, and look forward to beating your high score, lol.
Reply
9-29-2010 @ 2:05PM
Kris said...I'll quit tsk tsk-ing you about not breast feeding as soon as you quit tsk tsk-ing me for breast feeding in public-and I use a cover mind you!
Reply