Tara Pringle Jefferson is a freelance writer from Ohio, where she lives with her husband and two kids. Visit her blog, TheYoungMommyLife.com, for daily musings about the issues young moms face.
Over the past two months, there have been a few mini “mommy crusades” that have sparked coverage in the media.
The first was the uproar of mommy bloggers [https://blogs.forbes.com/sciencebizblog/2008/11/twitter-moms-si.html], who were offended after a rather mild Motrin ad suggested that moms who wear their babies in carriers were doing so to be fashionable, not because they wanted to bond with their children. The moms mobilized and Twittered, and in a matter of days the ad was taken down, the company issued an apology and all was well.
Until it wasn’t.
Now the latest uproar is on Facebook [https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/breastfeeding-facebook-photos/?ref=technology], where breastfeeding moms are perturbed that their breastfeeding pictures are being taken down, with Facebook execs citing other users’ complaints as the reason for the removal.
While I applaud the moms speed in organizing and voicing their opinions, I feel like this outrage is a bit misplaced.
First of all, regarding Motrin, it’s just an ad. If you don’t like it, then buy Tylenol. Or Advil. Or any one of the thousands of other pain-relievers on the shelf. It’s not that deep.
Secondly, regarding Facebook, why are you sharing your breastfeeding pictures to begin with? I understand, you think it’s a glorious thing. I breastfed both my kids too, but I can’t imagine posting pictures of my little one attached to my boob on Facebook, which gets millions of hits each month. No thank you.
Want to know what outrages me?
Expensive child care which makes it harder to save and harder to feel fulfilled at work, because you know a large chunk of your money is going elsewhere.
Educational systems that are failing our kids, with soaring drop-out rates and a growing population of kids who are failing further behind every year.
The millions of kids who don’t have the love and support of both parents, when one or both decided that being a parent was too much and decided to bounce and let the kid fend for themselves.
These are real issues. Where is the media coverage of the “Moms against sub-par schools” Facebook group? Why haven’t the mommy bloggers tackled a bigger topic like health care or emphasis on the work-home balance? Why are these trivial complaints brought to the forefront when bigger changes need to be made?