Mummy Wars: Let's Stop Judging Other Parents

Mummy Wars: Let's Stop Judging Other Parents
CT Working Moms

Have you been sucked into the 'Mummy wars', when parents find themselves judging each other's parenting choices?

A group of mums has decided to take a stand against this unnecessary - and frankly unhelpful - fight.

Will you breastfeed or bottle feed? Will you have a large family or just one child? Will you rush back to work or extend your maternity leave?

There isn't a single area of parenting that isn't fiercely debated, both in the media and among friends. With people on both sides of the argument eager to assert their choice is the 'right' one.

But why are we so quick to criticise opinions that differ from our own? Does it really matter how another parent chooses to feed their child, or whether their bedtime routine differs from our own?

That's the thought that inspired Michelle Noehren founder of the Connecticut Working Moms group, to start 'The Campaign for Judgement-Free Motherhood.'

She and other members of the group posed for a series of thought provoking photos holding up boarding showing different parenting styles. The photo series entitiled 'End the Mummy Wars' aims to encourage us all to learn to embrace our differences, rather than using them to draw up battle lines.

"The idea is to encourage mums to let go of their judgments and feel more compassion and love for other mums," Michelle told Parentdish.

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There isn't a single person in the world who enjoys being judged, so why do we do it to others?

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"Our simple guidance is that we can all start by simply noticing when we're judging. Then we can make a conscious choice about what to do next.

"We can get stuck in the negativity and separateness we feel when we're judging, or we can work to let those thoughts go and remember that all mums are doing the best they can.

"Just because someone makes a choice or handles something differently that we would doesn't mean they're doing something wrong."

Click through the gallery below to see photos from the End the Mummy Wars series and find out more about the campaign on the CT Working Moms Facebook page.

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