by Kally Mocho (USA) | Nov 4, 2010 | Family, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
There are certain childcare responsibilities that my husband just doesn’t do. Some things he refuses to do, like cutting the children’s nails. So I have taken on that responsibility and have only cut flesh once! (Still feel terrible about that.) There are other things that he just has never done, like cutting hair. It’s not that he refuses to cut the children’s hair. It’s just something he’s never done. It’s kind of like mowing the lawn for me. It’s not that I refuse to do it. I’ve just never done it before, so why start now?
I know that when my children’s hair is in their eyes, it bothers me more than it bothers them. So, I have to do something about it for my own sanity. I’ve always relied on the help of others to cut my children’s hair. My mother gave my daughter all of her haircuts until she was four. Then, I felt that she was old enough to handle sitting still in a chair at the hair salon without the threat of injury to herself or others.
But, my son’s not there yet. He’s 20 months old and has a strong and willful personality, definitely not shy. He lets you know what he does not like, and getting his hair cut is one of those things. So, he’s only had one haircut in 20 months which was graciously provided by my patient and loving mother. Until today… (more…)
by Angela Y (USA) | Nov 3, 2010 | Family, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
Now that my big girl, R, is 3, I have enrolled her in swim class. I waited until she turned 3 for a few reasons. I was told that children learn fear around that age; and, even if they were not afraid of the water before then, they may then become fearful. But, my main reason is because I don’t have to get in the pool with her. Instead, I can simply watch dryly from the deck with my little girl, M, who is 1-year-old, at my side. This prevents me from having to pay a sitter or find a convenient time when my husband is home to watch her.
My friends often talk about being “behind” on their children’s swimming skills. Here, in San Francisco, it is popular to enroll your child at a swim school like La Petite Baleen before babies can even crawl. You will often hear moms comparing ribbon colors. Some take it a step further and get private lessons because they felt their child was not excelling.
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Angela Y. is in her mid-thirties and attempting to raise her two daughters (big girl, R, 3 years; little girl, M, 1 year) with her husband in San Francisco, CA. After spending ten years climbing the corporate ladder, she traded it all in to be a stay-at-home mom! Her perspective of raising a child in the city is definitely different from those who have been city dwellers all their lives, as she grew up in rural Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) surrounded by her extended family.
Angela Y. and her husband are on their own on the west coast of the United States — the only family help they receive is when someone comes for a visit. But, the lifestyle in San Francisco is like no other for them, so there, they stay! This exercise conscious mom is easily recognized, especially when she is riding around her husband-built bike with two seats on the back. And, when she’s not hanging out with the girls, you can find Angela Y. in the kitchen. She loves to cook for her family, especially dessert, and then eats some herself when no one is looking! Sneaky, mom!
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by Jennifer Burden | Nov 2, 2010 | Being Thankful, Culture, Family, Motherhood, Multicultural, Parenting, USA
My grandmother is in her 90s and lives only 35 minutes away from me by car in New Jersey, USA. I don’t call her enough, and I don’t take my daughter over to see her enough. It makes me feel guilty, but here’s why. My day is filled with constant pressures of taking care of my daughter, “Mommy, I have to go potty”, “Mommy, I’m hungry”, “Mommy, I’m thirsty”, “Mommy, can you play frogs with me?”, “Mommy, can you make a play date with Ava?”, “Mommy, I don’t feel so well”, etc.
Then, I have a husband who works ridiculously long days, which means that I pick up more of what’s supposed to be our shared household chores. On top of that, I’m just trying to get through the day with my eyes open because I’m 4 months pregnant and struggling with fatigue. And, I write when I get the chance to keep myself sane.
So, why the heck do I want to pick up the phone at the end of MY day to hear my grandmother complain about her arthritis and why I never call her on top of it all?? Sometimes I just can’t take anymore on my plate, and I’m too overwhelmed. As everyone seems to say these days, “It is what it is”, right? But then, I got to thinking about my grandmother’s life, and I had an epiphany…
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Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
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by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Nov 1, 2010 | Culture, Family, International, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting
In January 2010 my life was turned upside down by the arrival of the cutest wee lad!
Before he was born I had quite unrealistic expectations to motherhood. I have, of course, heard people talk about how hard it is, the lack of sleep, the crying baby, the stress, but they also mentioned the love I would feel, a love greater than all others. And, I thought that love would give me all the energy needed to get through.
I also had big plans for maternity leave – in Norway most people take 56 weeks leave: a minimum of 6 weeks for the mother, a minimum of 10 weeks for the father, and the rest of the weeks can be shared equally (and this is with 80% pay). My husband is taking 4 months off, and I got the rest. Anyway, I had big plans. I would go for long walks and get back into my normal clothes in no time. I would read a lot, do lots of knitting, sort out all the filing, make all the baby food from scratch and so on. I was planning to be very social and meet up with lots of friends and lots of other things. I was going to be a “super mummy”!
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Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
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by Jennifer Burden | Nov 1, 2010 | Being Thankful
It’s here, November 1, 2010, the launch day of World Moms Blog!
Monday through Friday we hope to entertain you, make you laugh, make you cry, share the feeling that you’re not alone in mothering, open your world and some days even inspire you.
World Moms Blog aspires to be wonderful to read and inspiring to mothers, while providing our global moms with a large platform to tell their unique stories and succeed as writers.
We are grateful for the mothers who volunteered to write for us. We couldn’t have launched without you! And, we look forward to welcoming new mothers who will join us in telling their stories in the future.
We can’t leave out the friends of World Moms Blog who are currently scouring the globe to search for additional writers and sharing our website with new readers. Thank you!
On that note, World Moms Blog is officially launched!!! Cheers everyone!
World Moms Blog graphic design by designer Erica Joyner, http://ericajoyner.tumblr.com/.
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
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There are certain childcare responsibilities that my husband just doesn’t do. Some things he refuses to do, like cutting the children’s nails. So I have taken on that responsibility and have only cut flesh once! (Still feel terrible about that.) There are other things that he just has never done, like cutting hair. It’s not that he refuses to cut the children’s hair. It’s just something he’s never done. It’s kind of like mowing the lawn for me. It’s not that I refuse to do it. I’ve just never done it before, so why start now?
