Why Parenting On TV Is Nothing Like Real Life

No wonder we have no idea what we're getting into when we have kids. TV is where so many of us get our point of reference early on.  It begins during pregnancy, a young woman finds out she's pregnant by throwing up (in public, of course).  The only symptom she displays is getting sick in the morning and she never mentions the hip pain, heartburn, hemorrhoids or any other pregnancy symptoms throughout the entire 9 months of pregnancy.


The birth: Her water breaks on her due date and in public because a due date is written in stone and labour starts no other way, right? Contractions start instantaneously, she's rushed to the hospital and is screaming for pain meds before the commercial break. A few moments later, mom is holding a perfectly pink baby, who probably has a healed belly button and a bottle of formula shoved in it's mouth because that's the only way babies are fed (?). This is where the 'parenting' begins.


First of all, no ones house is as clean as on TV, especially with kids! Even when they're cooking supper the kitchen is spotless. So realistic. The funniest thing to me is how rarely you actually see babies on these shows. You don't see the baby interrupt the couples witty banter over supper, you don't see the mother nursing that baby six times in one night (let alone talk about it) and you most of all don't see the baby change the dynamic of any relationship. It's almost as if the baby takes care of itself.  You even see the parents out together without talking about the logistics of childcare. I guess that doesn't make for good tv, but it sure doesn't make the transition to motherhood easy on new mothers.


I think many moms feel like they don't 'have it together' because they don't see what real life really looks like. I worry about new moms seeing these portrayals on tv and think that it's anything close to reality.  That's why moms need REAL moms in their lives.  We need to know that other moms feel the same way we do.  Moms need momstown for this.  It's unbelievable to me when a mom of more than one says she has no mom friends.  I can't imagine my life without the support of other mamas who struggle with relationship issues, toddler tantrums and sleepless nights.  I am grateful for the "mommy friends" I've met through momstown who have become so much more than playgroup company and developed into a community that I couldn't live without.