Why I'm Not Happy About The End Mommy Wars Campaign
I just saw another video from the #EndMommyWars campaign and, in so many words, I’m not happy.
I really want to point out that this is a marketing campaign put out by Similac. It’s marketing to get you to buy their brand of infant formula instead of their competitors.
Image: similac.com
I believe that “Mommy Wars” is sprouted from the idea we have been sold that any one of us is parenting poorly, making bad decisions for our families based on what clothes we put our children in, how we diaper, if our children have breastmilk or formula, or what carseat our children ride in. Every one of those things is a product that has been marketed to us. Parenthood is a BIG business that thrives on driving wedges in our parenting tribes, because drama sells. It's hard to know that our tribes are being broken down by these companies, that our future generations are suffering
because of marketing campaigns.
As the ad below leads us to believe that even talking to another parent about any issue you may be facing you are already being judged. But are we really judging each other like that? The idea that we are against each other right from the start is setting up new parents to fail at finding their tribe before they've even had a chance to look. By leading parents to believe that every other parent out there is judging you, that every parent you meet is going to tell you you are doing it wrong, these companies are separating us more and more. Granted, yes, there are a lot of “We did {this} and it worked well for us” conversations in parenthood but most of these discussion begin with a parent seeking advice. Similac turning these conversations into an act of judgement is harmful. It drives a wedge into much needed human interaction that most new parents crave. It leaves them believing that they shouldn’t connect, that they shouldn’t seek help because they will simply be told they are wrong.
Image: similac.com
This ad campaign plays on the tough and unpleasant side of parenting. It plays on the fact that most new moms have to return to work quickly after having baby due to a lack of money (We could get into the lack of paid maternity leave in the US but that’s a whole different blog). It plays on the idea that we should be able to handle the first few weeks of parenthood with little to no support making postnatal care harder to ask for and in turn harder to find. It tugs at your heartstrings because parenting is an emotional, life changing, patience testing experience. If we allow things like this to shape how we interact with other parents our tribes will continue to get smaller to the point of nonexistence. Please, as you watch these videos and see these ad’s, please, remember that that is all they are, a marketing gimmick designed to sell a product.
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Mclean Confer is a birth and postpartum doula
who serves the Denver Metro area.
Learn more about what she does at
www.lovingmamadoula.com
