5 (Totally Busted) Mom Myths

We all do it—tell and retell certain stories regardless of their validity until we accept it as truth. Anecdotes that we think are useful, helpful, and necessary to pass along, which we do until we believe not only what we’ve been told but also what we are telling.

Have you heard that deodorant causes breast cancer? How about sugar making kids crazy? Did you ever tell someone that cracking knuckles causes arthritis?

Informational facts, good advice, right? Wrong. Each one is a myth—told and retold until it becomes a culturally believed truth.

Most myths develop from misinformation and are perpetuated from a lack of knowledge. And the best way to learn the truth is to break the myth.

So, the following are 5 mom myths busted wide open.

All Moms Fit Into A Mold—There exists a widely held belief that all moms fit neatly into a category (i.e. helicopter mom, yoga mom, career mom, etc.) However, squeezing moms into cleverly called close-fitting boxes undermines what really connects us all, which is that we are all women doing our best to keep our kids alive and our sanity in tact. Categorizing us oversimplifies not only us as women but also the very important and difficult job we do every day raising tiny humans.

We Have It Under Control—Even though we have a crying baby under our arm, a toddler at our feet, and we are pushing a stroller with our hip, we’re handling it. We may look frazzled and hurried, but we have a plan, a method, and a way. And when we don’t have a way, we figure it out because we have it under control except for when we don’t.

We Don’t Have It Under Control—Just because we can hold two children and push a shopping cart doesn’t mean that we always have everything under control. Living in a little one run world makes all moms, at some point, tired, frustrated, and bewildered. Remember that being a mom doesn’t mean that we know all the answers and have it all under control. So, hold the door, gives us a bump in the grocery line, and a kind word.

We Can Do It All—This is the most dangerous myth, especially to moms. It sets all moms up for failure and guilt because the truth is that we can’t do it all. The bigger truth, we shouldn’t even try. So if we’re late, forget the bake sale, or miss your call, it’s not because we’re incompetent. It’s because being a mom doesn’t mean you can do it all. It means you do your best at what matters most in the moment.

We Are Only “Moms”—Yes, we are moms but we are also daughters, sisters, wives, and girlfriends. We have jobs, dreams and goals, many of which—gasp—have little or nothing to do with the small humans we created no matter how much we love them. We’re not a maternal mob but rather individuals who occasionally need to be recognized as such. Not to mention, being a mom is much too important to ever attach “only” to it.

Busting the myths cracks open the truth, and the truth is that no matter how you dress, parent, or appear, we are all moms doing the best we can do raise the best people we can and that puts us in a category all our own. I call that category—awesome.

Sherry Parnell

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Sherry Parnell is a mother, writer and a runner. She lives with two rambunctious little boys and one very supportive husband. Sherry is also the author of the book, Let The Willows Weep. You can find more of her posts on her personal blog at www.sherryparnell.com