Parents and mom bloggers -- it's cool to be both these days. Here are a few examples from the media this week that make my point. If only my kids knew how cool I was...
1. Being a parent these days is clearly in vogue. All the celebrities are doing it. Now there is a growing trend with single men and women who want to become parents when they are ready. And they can, with the help of emerging sites, such as Modamily.com, CoParents.com, MyAlternativeFamily.com, PollenTree.com -- all web destinations for people interested in starting a family in non-traditional ways. I found an article in the Toronto Star about a 35-year-old man who is looking for a partner to co-parent a child with. To be clear, he is not looking for romance in any way, shape or form. Co-parenting is when two people who aren't romantically involved choose to have a child (through in vitro or artificial insemination) and share the responsibility of raising a child. They meet online and they parent offline. According to the article, there are hundreds of thousands of people who want to become parents and are just becoming aware of this as an option. I think it's an interesting trend but I do hope all these new parents sign up for our Savvymom.ca newsletter because being a single parent is tough work!
2. One parent who knows how to shake it is the First Lady, Michelle Obama. You want to watch her dance on YouTube. The clip shows her performing The Evolution of the Mom Dance with Jimmy Fallon on his late night show in honour of her 'Let's Move' campaign. She is encouraging parents to get up and get moving with their kids. I love this video for so many reasons. I love that the First Lady can dance. She actually has moves and she can do the Dougie. (If you've never tried, it's not easy to look cool doing the Dougie -- I know.) I also love dancing with my kids and I agree that it's a fun way to get them moving (until they turn into tweens, sadly). Finally, she looks great. While Jimmy's outfit depicts moms as nerds in pink cardigans, Michelle rocks her skinny jeans and flats while she pulls out her moves. That girl can dance. I'm going home to beg my too-cool-for-school kids to dance with me tonight. I'll let you know how that goes.
3. But it's not just the First Lady that people are watching. Two of my mommy-blogging friends are stars these days. Emma Waverman of Embrace the Chaos and Sharon DeVellis from YMC can be seen extoling the virtues of healthy eating and cooking for kids in a series of commercials with Galen Weston. The ads are fun to watch for me because I know the players, but I am more impressed to see that the rest of the world is celebrating and recognizing the influence that mom bloggers have these days.
4. And to illustrate why mom blogs are popular and influential, all you need to do is read this post about why moms need to stop telling lies on Facebook. It's a classically honest, funny and accurate account of "a day in the life" and the contradictions we all portray through social media. She pokes fun at herself and bloggers while making the story deeply relatable for any parent. It will make moms smile or laugh, and that's how to get our attention. That's why mom blogs are 'boss' these days.
5. Finally, a word about parenting and technology. I hope all parents are paying attention to how much screen time their kids are absorbing from day one. How connected are you or your kids to your phone/computer/iPad? I watched this video about disconnecting completely (and what happens when you do) over the weekend and shared it with my kids. It reminded me of when I lived without a cell phone last year for a whole month. It was tough, but it was liberating at the same time. You should try it. Go on vacation from your phone. Let me know how it goes.
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