When will the criticism stop?
The bashing of us women who work, the bashing of those
who don’t? And the majority of the time by those women who don’t actually have
children.
I’m not even going to give the woman in question on this
particular occasion airtime, but we all know which “fake it until you make it”
celeb I’m talking about this week. I’ve never been a writer to get personal
about other people, this space is about me and my experiences. My thoughts and
beliefs. But that doesn’t mean it really didn’t hit a nerve. I just cannot get
my little blonde head (okay, with really bad roots!) around the fact that there is a woman publicly stating
how awful it is for a mother to put her child into some kind of childcare so she
can go to work.
Unfortunately my love most of us have to work. Childcare
isn’t merely an off the cuff decision we made one evening, it’s not something
we think lightly of and it certainly quite often isn’t a choice as such. It’s a
choice in that yes, we don’t have to work, we could scrape our pennies together
and try to survive on very little and spend every second with our babies but is
that realistic? In a lot of instances, absolutely not. We have bills to pay,
roofs to keep over our heads and we want to give our families everything we
can.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What about those
of us who work for our own sanity, it’s okay to admit that we need challenging
from time to time, that baby talk and toddler negotiation isn’t enough every
day for some people. I’ll put my hands up and openly admit that I couldn’t be
home with my babies every single day, I need space to be the other side of Mum,
something else to engage in and the empowerment and satisfaction I get from
being a working mum. I also want to be a role model for my children, show them
what they too can do one day. That’s not to say I wouldn’t drop another day if
I could as I know the time before my children start school is precious and I
love the time I get with them during the week on my day off, but I couldn’t
give up work altogether. It’s not the same for everyone, this is just me
personally.
Our children need to know it’s okay to work as a parent,
it’s okay to pursue a career if you choose to.
And bashing those mums who do stay at home? Just as
ridiculous as the bashing of those who do go to work. It’s their choice. If
they can afford to why wouldn’t they? What if they have no other choice? No one
else to help with the nursery runs, the nursery fees etc. Not to mention many
other reasons why someone may CHOOSE not to work such as their health or their
personal situation.
We are all doing our best, doing what we feel is best to
provide our children with all that we can. It’s all about balance, and as if
that balance isn’t tricky enough to get right without women like you trying to
tip it up at any opportunity.
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