There's been a recent surge in 'motherhood' among some of my children's friends, and it's bothered me enough to provoke THIS.
Let me start by saying, I'm a baby-holic.....I could just love on babies all day long and not even care about the rest of the world. In fact, when my own kids were babies, I believe that was my prevailing modus operandi.
The difference between ME with babies and these friends of my daughter/son is pretty big. I had my first child at 23. These girls haven't even exited their teens. I was married. These girls have 'boyfriends'.
What makes me think I have any right at all to comment? Well, let me start by pointing out the fact that these girls are using their pregnancies and babies as attention-getters...not just in reality, but in online modes.
When I had my children, the first reaction was not to flaunt my pregnancy/birth to the rest of the world. This recent decade has made it not only necessary, but extremely cool. We've got children having children and bragging about it online to all their 'psuedo'-friends. Facebook, Twitter and all the myriad of social networks have made it so that 'parents' are subsequently being patted on the back by the very same, thereby enforcing/encouraging the stupidity.
It makes me sad to think that, when the new wears off (and it will), that these parents will crumble under the reality of parenting. Babies.....while incredibly adorable a lot of the time....are not always so. They are going to interrupt everything you do for at least 10 years...and I don't think today's kids are ready to give up their video games and pedicures and raves and all the other selfish things for their kids. I think they view their babies as some sort of awesome accessory to be dressed up and flaunted.
To those parents I give caution: Be sure to start a legal fund for your children, because the payoff for treating them as a watch or a purse is that they will make you pay for operating that way. Believe it..before it's too late.
