Stop Judging Me: Pandemic Parenting

Living through a pandemic is tough enough but mom-shaming is at an all-time high. My mom-guilt was already on 100 and now I’m managing virtual schooling, questioning every sniffle and cough, cooking 10 meals a day, and moonlighting as a tech expert. Times are tough and things are overwhelming and every time I try to break away from the stress I open Facebook and I’m reading another judgmental post about someone’s parenting. I feel like I am in a constant state of protecting our health and defending our parenting ALL.THE.TIME.

I can’t post pictures of my kids!

Every time I think about posting a picture of my kids I am second-guessing myself and questioning if I should post at all.

Will my friends judge me for bringing my kid to this outing?

Should I post a disclaimer *Mask taken off for photos only*?

Is their mask properly fitted on their face?

Each time I decide to take a small risk and bring my kids to a socially distant outing I have had at least 4 internal conversations, weighed the pros and cons, and picked my husband’s brain for his opinion and even then it seems like it’s not enough. It’s so hard to decide when to choose our mental health and enjoy a “normal activity” because I feel judged and then I still feel judged when we turn down an invitation for a “COVID safe” event as well.  There is no winning!!  Going to the outdoor birthday party and turning down the birthday party invitation are equally difficult decisions and everyone has to do what is best for THEIR family.

COVID has a lot of unknowns but we have also been given a plethora of information about conducting ourselves in a safe manner.  So much Mom shaming is being done based on opinion and anecdotal information instead of facts and sometimes we also just make the decision that feels right for our own families because there isn’t enough info to sway us one way or another.

As we enter the race to vaccination, let’s remember that we will be bombarded with lots of opinions for and against vaccinating.  Each family has some tough decisions to make, but we all have a duty to each other to share facts and seek knowledge from professionals if we want to ever get out of this pandemic. So, if you see someone sharing inaccurate information, I encourage you to post facts or send them a private message. Share your experience with vaccination.  But please, stop hounding the Mom that decides to participate in a low-risk activity to help their kids enjoy a bit of normalcy. And if you see a Mom completely ignoring every COVID warning, please send her a message or a text with facts and let her know that you are worried about her and her family.

Seleigh
Seleigh is a New Orleans native currently residing in Waggaman with her husband and two daughters. She stayed local and received her undergraduate degree from Loyola University New Orleans and Master’s from the University of New Orleans. She currently works at a New Orleans charter school as a School Operations Leader. As a life long civil servant she has found her passion dedicating her days to NOLA’s youngest residents! Seleigh spends her weekends running between extra curricular activities for her girls, festival hopping and enjoying dinner at her favorite restaurants.

1 COMMENT

  1. Get over yourselves everyone and ditch the psychological bondage your putting your children through. A minimal amount of research will show you that you are falling for a media driven fear campaign. The damage we’re doing to our psyches and most importantly that of our CHILDREN is far greater than the sweet and sour sniffles.

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