I think for a lot of mums once you have children, people expect you to act and behave a certain way. However, the biggest thing I’ve seen other mums mention is that people expect them to look a certain way.
It’s almost like people assume that the moment you have a baby, you become some demure little housewife (which if you do and you’re happy in yourself and you’ve done it for yourself more power to you!) However, having childen shouldn’t mean changing how you dress or the way you do your hair or your makeup or anything else.
I saw someone recently worry that they shouldn’t be wearing a low cut top on a night out, purely because she was a parent. I’ve also seen other people told they shouldn’t have tattoos or wear lots of make up because they’re a mother, which is insane to me. What gives anyone the right to tell someone how they should and shouldn’t look?
Since having Grayson, I still dress the same and wear my hair and make up the same. I haven’t changed who I am on the outside, just because I’m someone’s mum now.
I think it’s incredibly healthy for children to grow up and see that everyone is different and that all their mummies and daddies are different, but that’s not a bad thing! As long as we’re raising our children to be happy and healthy little people, why should it matter if a woman wants to get her boobs out for a night out with her friends and wear loads of make up? It doesn’t make her any less of a mother.
So the next time you hear a woman say “I’m not sure I should be wearing this, I’m a mum now” tell her what a goddess she is and tell her just because she’s a mum it doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t still be her own person. At the same time, if you hear someone shaming a mum for how she looks – I’m sure you can all come up with a few choice words for them.
*Just a small disclaimer here, I’m sure this happens to dad’s as well and it should totally be the same for everyone BUT I have just found from personal experience it’s a bigger issue for mothers.*