A new study has revealed, perhaps not surprisingly, moms feel under so much pressure to be the 'perfect parent' they resort to lying about the amount of TV their kids watch, what they cook for their families, and even how much "quality time" they spend with their partner.
Netmums, a UK parentling website, surveyed over 5,000 moms and found that we lie in overwhelming numbers. Two thirds of mothers fib about how well they were coping with the stresses of motherhood, half covered up financial problems and one fifth of moms lied about how long they spent playing with their children.
Peer pressure and the modern-day culture of perfect parenting was identified by Netmums as being a major cause of the perceived pressure. More than 9 out of 10 moms compared themselves to other parents, and reported feeling inadequate as a result.
This week Netmums launched a campaign 'The Real Parenting Revolution' which aims to remove the illusion of 'perfect' parenting and increase support for parents.
The webiste has developed a parents code, calling for parents to 'get REAL':
R - Relax and trust yourself
E - Enjoy being a parent
A - Accept each others' choices
L - Look out for each other
Anyone who has ever visited a parenting forum or even had a random conversation at the park knows that the pressure on moms isn't isolated to British women. I'll be interested to watch how this campaign develops over the coming months and if any real changes are made to parenting culture in the UK.
TTYL,
Organized Working Mom
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