This Brutally Honest Post About Motherhood Deserves an A+
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Many parents attest that having children is one of the greatest experiences a person can ever have. While raising a family has perks, it can also make people feel like they have lost their sense of identity, or that they should never put themselves before their offspring. Australian blogger Constance Hall confronted these conflicts in a Facebook post about motherhood, and many are responding positively to her words.
Hall began her post by celebrating women who take time for themselves even though some people find this selfish and unfair to the kids.
"To the woman at the park, looking at her phone, ignoring her children, I salute you," she wrote. "For not giving into the public perception that you should be switched on, 24 hours a day. For giving no fucks about what 'constable mother's group' thinks."
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Hall also addressed the immense pressure on moms to "do it all" — be a perfect wife, always take care of chores, hold a stable job, and be a great parent — and cheered on the women who don't try to do everything all of the time, as this is quite a burden to bear.
She commended mothers who take anti-depressants when necessary and seek help for postpartum depression, which up to 19 percent of women face. With the stigma surrounding postpartum depression and other mental illnesses, it can be hard for women to talk about their struggles and realize that there are many others out there like them.
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"Being a good mum or wife or human does NOT mean spending eternity cleaning your house," Hall continued. "If you leave them for long enough your friends will start doing them. To the woman at the doctors surgery, waiting patiently to request some antidepressants,
I salute you."
"Post natal depression is a rude little c[**]t," Hall continued. "You are still coping, do not confuse depression for not coping, you've taken action, you look like a coping queen to me. Too often strength and weakness are confused, strength is asking for help. You are so strong.
So many women are going through the exact same thing, they just don't talk about it."
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Hall wrapped up the piece by confronting the societal pressure on women to get their "post-baby bodies" in shape when parenting is enough of a task as it is:
"To the woman who didn't loose all of that baby weight, I salute you. A brand new 24 hour job that doesn't pay and won't end for around 20 years is NOT a good time to give up cake. Eat the cake, eat the whole fucking cake and fuck off anyone who dares to say anything. Your post baby body is not all the sudden free for public commentary."
Hall's post received more than 274,000 likes and racked up a ton of messages of gratitude from fellow moms:
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Other moms who have spoken up.
Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith echoed a similar sentiment in a video for Omeleto on "being a wife and a mother." Speaking to her daughter Willow Smith, she said that while motherhood has been rewarding, it has also come with sacrifices.
"Being a wife and a mother is probably one of the most extraordinary experiences and the most fulfilling experiences in my life," she said to Willow. "But at the same time, it has been very difficult to balance being able to do the things that I want to do and have the freedoms that I want to have, and also being responsible for you, and your brothers, and your father. And I'm constantly everyday trying to figure out that balance."
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One major struggle, Pinkett-Smith said, is trying to figure out her own dreams while assisting her children and husband Will Smith with their dreams. She said that she meditates at the beginning of every day and makes sure to visualize her own needs in this practice, something she has never done before.
"That's a new thing for me," she said. "You always have to remember to take care of you first and foremost because when you stop taking care of yourself, you get out of balance and you really forget how to take care of others."
