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Strollerderby
Will she hate me for this?
Writing about your life is tricky business. The stories you’re telling are true. The people in them are identifiable. And when you write online, you’re writing them in indelible internet ink. It’s something that anyone who writes about her personal life must think about. But when you’re a mother who’s writing about her children, things get a lot more complicated. A mommy blogger is playing two roles at once. In her role as a mother, her work is protecting her children. Her role as a blogger is to write something that people will want to read. What happens when those priorities clash?
Bloggers aren’t the only people faced with this question. Anyone who uses Facebook, twitter, or any other social networking platform has to consider how much information to share about her kids and their lives.
What is a mother’s obligation to her kid’s feelings…current and future? Where do you draw the line?
The Pioneer Woman opens up to the New Yorker
Ree Drummond has it all: the hunky husband, the brood of amazing kids, the camera of my dreams and the ability to cook. She’s also, along with Dooce, the reigning queen of mommy bloggers.
Blogging as The Pioneer Woman, Ree invites millions of readers into her life every day. Not only does this woman have it all, she does it all: she homeschools her kids on a huge ranch where her husband runs a commercial cattle operation, she cooks, she crafts, she writes books, and she documents it all gorgeously on her site.
Of course I want to be her sometimes. Even though her life in ranch country couldn’t possibly be more different from my urban paradise.
Our Mom with Clout contest winner, Sausage Mama
We’re thrilled to announce that the winner of our Mom with Clout contest is Sausage Mama.
This 26-year-old Aussie mom of two is an online wunderkind — in just two years she has built an online community of moms worldwide who look to her for guidance on attachment parenting, natural childbirth, breastfeeding and more. Continue reading »
I’m guessing you’re all aware of the recent widespread brouhaha caused by a Babble blogger who revealed her preference for one child over another in a highly controversial manner. I declined to comment on this post at the time, because there was such an onslaught of reactions it seemed pointless. But I have certainly thought about it a lot. One of the things I thought was unfortunate was the fact that the blogger’s original point was so valid, and so valuable—but it was totally lost in the fray of the way she expressed it, and the outrage that expression generated.
It would be so simple if we could all feel an absolute balance of love among all our children, but the reality is that favoritism happens. It happens quite often, in fact: A high percentage of parents (65% of moms and 70% of dads) consider one of their children their favorite: usually the oldest. But parents are right to worry about it. In addition to the inequities in how children are treated, favoritism can lead to competition, and feelings of guilt for the favorite child and jealousy and resentment for the less favored one. But having a favorite child doesn’t have to be a tragedy. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a big deal.
The key is to keep an eye on the damaging stuff, rather than focusing on the unrealistic goal of a constant even-steven state. Here is Parenting expert Michele Borba’s three step plan to help keep things from getting out of hand:
Step 1. Take a parent reality check. Continue reading »
I’ll start by acknowledging that I’m still not all that good at keeping my mouth shut. This should be obvious from the fact that I’m writing about myself on the internet.
But really, this is nothing.
Before I had kids, I was a professional confessionalist. I blabbed inappropriately about myself in a wide range of media. Often to critical acclaim. I painted confrontational self portraits and wrote baldly autobiographical songs. I made comics about embarrassing adolescent evenings.
I even blabbed about blabbing about myself. Really: I released an EP named Me and My Big Mouth. And co-created an online game called Brain Filter: In the game, embarrassing pieces of information kept popping out of the mouth. The object was to try to stuff them back in. You couldn’t win.
I became a mother around the same time I started hearing the word “blog” to describe writing about yourself on the internet.
Jenny Medlen is one of Babble's Moms with Clout
Babble’s Moms with Clout contest has begun. You can check out all the cool, influential moms who’ve been nominated. Once you’ve read their amazing bios, vote for the mom you think should win an iPad 2. The vote will be shared on your Facebook wall to spread the word. (Please note that deleting the post from your wall will also remove your vote from our tally.)
Will you pick Jenny Medlen because she has pink hair, newborn triplets and a great attitude? Or Sarah Stewart Holland, with her Southern charm and warmth? Or maybe Nicole, who’s expecting her 3rd baby?
Each of these moms with clout has something unique to offer. I’m sure each one would put that iPad 2 to great use.
Someone sent me a link to Dooce when I first became a mom. I was at home with a new baby, isolated in a beautiful suburban home far from my friends and former haunts. I wasn’t depressed, exactly, but I wasn’t as blissed out as I’d expected to be at the arrival of my daughter.
“You have to read this,” my friend said. “This woman is so funny. But she’s more than funny. She understands.”
My friend wasn’t a mom. He was a 30-ish hipster with no intention of ever spawning a child. He wasn’t into babies or in need of a parenting support group. He just loved Dooce, because she was funny and more than funny.
He’s not alone. As her blog turns 10, Dooce is widely recognized as the reigning Queen of The Mommy Bloggers.
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
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