My son asked me to download a game for him on my phone. I oblige him and search for something fun, educational and most of all FREE.
Mama don’t play that.
I’m scrolling through the list when I see this game:
The hell?
The game’s description reads:
Babies may be cute but they sure are a handful. Here, you don’t have to just tackle these brats; you have to beat your next-door neighbor to it as well! This is your chance to be a Super Mom!
Brats? Beat your next door neighbor? Say it with me: UGH!!!!!
So I downloaded the game (hey, it was free) to see what it was like. Maybe it’s really a fun game?
This is what I see:
Simply put, this game is stupid. It’s endless tasks in the day in the life of a mom—wiping butts, changing diapers, giving baths—and seeing if you can do it faster than the “Rival Super Mom.” How…fun?
And really, I know this is just a game, probably not even aimed at moms. But it’s just another example of how pervasive “mommy competition” is.
I spent a good chunk of time comparing myself to other mothers.
Oh, they remembered to bring hand sanitizer to the park and I didn’t.
They feed their kids homemade organic fruit puree and I’m over here with a jar of Gerber.
They have…I don’t.
It was constant. I worked hard to prove that I was a great mother, even though the only person I needed to be seeking approval from was my kids. Did they think I was doing a good job? Well, then that’s all that matters.
Enough with looking over to see what the next mom is doing. Who cares? Once you learn to evaluate your own performance based on your gut feelings, life gets easier, your kids get happier and you are more relaxed.