I can't believe she doesn't feed her kid organic vegetables! Why on Earth is she serving her baby that kind of baby food?! Her poor kids -- she yells at them way too much! She's a bad mom! Bad mom! BAD MOM! The judgy mommy stuff sometimes gets completely out of control. It forms cliques, makes people hate on each other, and is often the source of all the mommy wars out there.
Maggie Gyllenhaal stopped judging moms. That's right. She's done. Gyllenhaal admits there was a time in her life when she was quick to judge. She shared that once she saw a mom on her cellphone with her baby sleeping in the stroller and thought, "How can that mother have her cellphone out?"
Then she realized mamas have to make phone calls, too. Or something like that.
Yep, the mom of 5 1/2-year-old Ramona and 4-month-old Gloria Ray revealed that she thought she was going to be this perfect parent and then realized there is no such thing. Maggie said, "I’ve realized that that isn’t possible and that part of being a human is making mistakes -- and making lots of them."
Can I get an Amen?
So the next time you see a mom doing something not exactly cool in your book, remember that she may just be having an off day. And Maggie thinks you should knock it off. Of course that mother might really be a horrible monster of a mom ... oh wait. I kid! I'm totally not going to judge. Because I know there has to be moments other people caught me in and didn't think the best of me. It happens. We try to be the best we can be, but we have moments. And we learn from them and are better because of them.
And get this ... all this judgement went away when she became a mom. She somehow made herself immune to the slings, arrows, and daggers so many parents throw at each other. Sign me up! I'd like that booster shot, please.
This is the same Maggie Gyllenhaal who breastfeeds in public and even the same mama whose babywearing character in the movie Away We Go was opposed to strollers because you are pushing your baby away from you. That last bit was a part she played, remember. Still she is a natural-minded mama for her own kids, but isn't going to be judgemental of moms who do things their own way. Which is how we should all be, don't you think?
What do you think of Maggie's revelation? Should we stop judging?
Image via Cristiano Betta/Flickr
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Comments 7
I like this article and I hope you mean it. This site is the epitome of judgement and lack of understanding for other mom's (not your articles, but even where a child has died it often results in a preachy "if only the parent had______"). It would be nice to read some more well rounded, thought out opinions here instead of knee jerk reactions. This article is a great start!
All of us Moms are human and yes we all make mistakes. I never knew that there was this much judging going on until I came to this site. I don't care how any woman got pregnant, birth their baby, feed their baby, diaper their baby or anything else silly like that. The only time I judge is when a parent does something that is harmful to their child ie...driving without child in car seat (I saw a woman just last week holding an infant in her arms while someone else drove) or if parents don't understand that once you have kids, you should grow up and stop partying everynight. Outside of that, yes we should start judging other moms. Life is hard and sometimes it just enough to get through each day.
People tend to think there is only one way to be a good mom. Maybe that's why we tend to judge. As a mom of two toddlers, I don't always look cool or very put together.
It's refreshing to see an article like this. I want to be more supportive of other mommys.
Don't let all the haters get you down. Being a mom is not always easy but you do it because you rock!!
I went to Wal-Mart the other day and there was nothing but judgey moms. One woman was going on about how her son has never had a single processes food in his life while another one was going one about how she only uses all natural school supplies, I'm still trying to figure out what an organic pencil is by the way. I felt bad for laughing! And of course I go in on the action when a mother asked me if I knew what they did to chickens so I could eat it, my response: "I don't know but it is freaking delicious!"