Every mom has all either felt, seen, or heard stories about or all the above. [quote]The unsung pressure that a mom feels to be everything to everyone. [/quote] To be fully present with her family, friends and community, and to do so with a smile on her face, without ever asking for help from anyone. This “Super Mom” mentality is going strong in most mom circles today and is incredibly hard to battle. No one but her expects her to tackle the eighty things on her to-do (most of which aren’t have-to-do’s) list for the day and then start all over again the next day with complete and utter perfection.
I find the “Super Mom” mentality to be thriving the most with new moms or moms of newborns. Social media has thrust every family’s perfect moments out into the spotlight and therefore putting undeserved pressure onto other moms to strive for this “perfection” that doesn’t truly exist. Somewhere in all of this, moms have decided that asking for help after having a baby or admitting that you can’t do everything by yourself means that you are a failure of a mother. If you have problems breastfeeding, your haven’t figured out how to get two kids ready in the morning while getting a shower, or your baby isn’t on a “schedule” by five weeks of age, you are doing it wrong! Don’t even think about considering a postpartum doula, nanny, or consistent help of any kind or you will most definitely lose your “Super Mom” title.
I am a proud fighter against the “Super Mom” mentality and fervently work towards the day that we can embrace the “It takes a Village” mindset instead. New mothers should feel free to welcome any and all offers of help and assistance that they receive. We as women and fellow mothers should also be the first to break down the walls of perfection pressure to encourage new mothers during the hard times as well as the good. Share in each others struggles and encourage each other to seek out help when there is a need and to praise each other for doing so. Our children, families, and communities will be better for it and thrive in the “We’ve got you when you don’t feel like you’ve got this” mindset.
