Should Moms Blog About Their Children?

Okay, what gives? People write about their marital affairs, children of celebrities are plastered all over magazines, and then we have people like Octo-Mom and the whole Jon & Kate Plus 8 mess. And, I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg with these examples...

http://www.askrobinwalker.com/blog

Now, bloggers (mommy bloggers, for the most part) are getting slammed for blogging about their children? Okay, I understand that we have a responsibility to protect our children. We need to keep them safe from the dangers that prowl on the Internet, as well as out in the real world.

We do. There is no doubt about that.

I also understand that there are kids (mostly in the teenager age group) that have an issue with their parents posting embarrassing stories about them on the Internet. Yes, I can see that posing a problem. We were all teenagers once...let's step into their already difficult (and often troubled) lives and then think about how it would affect them if we posted embarrassing stories about them on the Internet for all of their friends (and foes) to make fun of them about.

Not cool.

How-eh-ver...the whole world posts their children's pictures up on Facebook, except maybe a small percentage of very out-of-the-loop people who are social media challenged. Every type of news story possible about children is spread like a virus on the Internet and throughout the media, many times with photos attached.

Who doesn't talk about their children? Look, I will be honest and tell you that I don't run every blog post by my children prior to posting it on Mommy Rantings, nor will I. On the upside, my children are honored when I write about them on my blog (the ones that understand that I'm even writing, anyway).

They constantly ask if I wrote about them today. They're proud of my blog and our family and the things that we do and they laugh about the stories that might-not-be-so-worthy-of-pride. They're proud of their mother and the fact that she has a pretty blog that is focused on being a mother which, ultimately, stems from the fact that they are my children. This all may change when they become teenagers, but I figure as long as I respect them, just like I expect them to respect me, Mommy Rantings will stay alive and kicking.

Opinions Are Like... (Fill in the rest yourself)

Melissa Clouthier, in her article Should Mom’s Blog About Their Kids? … No–UPDATED, says: "I just don’t know if it’s a good thing for children to read their mother’s psychological regurgitation about them. How does it help their children?" If you scroll down to the comment after the article, you will read someone's opinion which announces that posting your children's pictures and telling their stories online exposes their photos to the possibility of pedophiles...I'm not even stepping one foot further with that issue. 

I write about my kids. I tell stories about them. I post pictures of them on my blog (they are also on Facebook, mostly for family's sake). I post parts of their otherwise very private life right here on Mommy Rantings. I also post crafts and my opinions and reviews on products and a little bit of advice...

People may carry the perception that I degrade my children by posting their adorable pictures and telling their stories. If that's your opinion, go read someone else's blog. I'll blog about my children until they tell me that they no longer want me to. And, just judging from the amount of joy that they get out of Mommy Rantings, I highly doubt that they will feel that way for a long time...

In the meantime, for those people that think moms shouldn't blog about their kids, I have "a little bit of advice" for you...go find someone else to complain about.