Lillian Saleh: ‘How bitter must people be to sit in front a keyboard and cast judgment’
AN innocent column about missing her son’s first unaided steps which were captured by his daycare educators opened the floodgates for the online trolls, writes Lillian Saleh.
Parenting
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parenting. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Dr Justin Coulson: What to do if your child is a bully
- Dr Justin Coulson: How to get kids to listen without yelling
TAYLOR Swift said it best: “Haters are gonna hate hate hate hate hate.”
A few weeks ago I wrote about missing my son’s first unaided steps.
I watched him takes those steps in a short video sent from our daycare.
While I was swamped with comments from people empathising, I was hit with a tsunami of comments from people (mainly women) implying I was a bad mother for daring to work while my son was in daycare.
One wrote: “You made a choice now you have to live with it.”
Another chimed in: “Children are a commitment. If you are not going to uphold it then do not have them.”
Ouch.
“It’s the choice mothers make. You can’t have it both ways,” another noted.
“You either stay home with your babies or work.”
In 2018? Really?
One male reader suggested more mums, “need to think less about money and stay at home … and become less pretend (sic) to be tough corporate barking animals on high heels”.
For the record, I much prefer comfortable flat shoes.
LILLIAN SALEH: MUM LIFE
Please stop calling my son a girl
What do they expect mums to do? pee standing up?
Many missed the point.
I wasn’t pitting working mothers against stay-at-home mothers. Both are as equally as hard and rewarding as each other.
I was lucky to spend 12 months at home with my little boy.
But there are things that don’t pay for themselves, like, you know, mortgage, bills, food.
I was paying homage to the daycare educators (not babysitters as one reader put it) who invest so much in the children entrusted in their care.
It was my decision to share such a personal story but I didn’t expect it to open the floodgates for such hateful, judgmental comments.
What happened to the sisterhood and empowering women in whatever circumstance they face? How bitter must some people be to sit in front a keyboard or mobile phone and cast judgment.
Rather than let the hateful comments get to me, I had more pressing matters to attend to, like a little boy with hand, foot and mouth.