Over the last couple of weeks, we have introduced you to the British parents who are finalists in the MAD Blog Awards, celebrating the very best British Mummy bloggers and Daddy bloggers and sponsored by Parentdish.co.uk.
Today, we are introducing the finalists in the last remaining category – Post of the Year. This category celebrates posts that have really stood out over the past 12 months, because of their bravery, insight or humour.
Our first finalist is Becky, from Baby Budgeting, who has written movingly about how her own mum inspired her to share stories with her children. As parents, so many of us are inspired by our mums that this post really struck a chord with other British parents.
An estimated one in five British adults will suffer from depression in their lives, but often this epidemic doesn't get discussed openly – many of us are still embarrassed about mental health problems, or fear that our colleague and friends might just us for such an illness.
Britain's mummy bloggers have been at the forefront of addressing this taboo, bringing depression and mental health into the open, and showing that the illness affects our friends, family and colleagues. One such post is My Name is Carol, from Dance Without Sleeping.
Next up, Kate from the Five F's shares her story of finding the strength to escape from an abusive relationship in a powerful and honest poem created for her blog. It's the sort of post that really brings home that violence and bullying isn't just something on television or in newspapers; it's happening to women we know – our friends, our sisters, our colleagues.
The most memorable blog posts aren't all emotional – unless you mean they make you cry with laughter. For anyone who has ever despaired when faced with a nappy change, this post from Metal Mummy will put it all into perspective, we promise.
One of our very favourite things about parent blogs is that while magazines and websites might focus on the 'proper' thing to do in any situation, blogs are written by real mums and dads just like us – who know all about taking the path of least resistance. For anyone who has ever bribed a child with a chocolate button, or popped your child in front of the TV to take a break, we recommend heading over to Very Bored in Catalunya to enjoy Wendy's (slightly alternative) A-Z of parenting.
Finally, there are some stories that are just too good to miss. And, frankly, a story about your husband accidentally finding himself stripped down in a doctor's surgery, wearing women's underwear? Well, it's compelling stuff. And we thank Missy M(and her husband) for sharing it with us.
Voting for the MAD Blog Awards 2011 closes on June 17th at 9pm. If you'd like to take part, do head over to the MAD Blog Awards website and check out our finalists' blogs!
You can read more about other finalist categories here.