Moms often have to get creative when we are in an environment outside of our home in order to keep our children compliant, and non-destructive.
Thinking outside the box may involve some unconventional practices, but never at the expense of our children’s safety and well-being.
Despite the mother’s master ingenuity and the child’s perfectly satisfied nature, strangers still love to give their judgmental glares. Seemingly, everyone thinks they are an ace at all things parenting.
The problem is that everyone is not an expert in parenting. And as the old adage goes, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Unfortunately, a man, ironically enough, fixed his critical eye on an unsuspecting mother with her daughter, and capitalized on a moment he knew nothing about.
Cafe Mom reported:
“Lensing was in an airport with her infant daughter when a stranger took an unprompted photo and posted it without her permission to social media. Instantly she became the poster child for “mother who ignores child in distress because she’s on her cell phone.””
The photo featured Lensing on her cell phone, sitting in a chair, while her 2-month-old daughter was lying on a blanket at her feet.
Molly Lensing, mother of three, was shocked to find her photo going viral on the internet. Even worse yet, was that people were incessantly shaming her “behavior”, making preposterous claims on her abilities as a mother.
Some of the comments read, “Someone should have reported this picture and taken it to social services,” and “I hope someone turned her in for child abuse.” according to US Magazine.
It is not child abuse to let your child sleep on a blanket under your supervision! People are so quick to point the finger, without knowing the context surrounding the scenario.
Some individuals were barbaric enough to contact Lensing on her personal Facebook page to put in their shameful two-cents worth.
Lensing reached a breaking point, after weeks of continuous shaming;she agreed to do an interview with Today to discuss the circumstances surrounding the photo.
Delta had a computer shut-down, according to Lensing, leaving the two stranded in the airport for over 20 hours. Lensing and her daughter Anastasia were no doubt exhausted and uncomfortable.
Today reported:
“Anastasia had been held or in her carrier for many hours. My arms were tired. She needed to stretch,” Lensing said, explaining why her then-2-month-old daughter was on the floor. “And I had to communicate with all the family members wondering where the heck we were.”
Babies easily get overstimulated. The constant noise and movement of walking around in an airport can quickly become too much. It is important to give them downtime, which is exactly what Lensing was doing.
The photo that was taken unbeknownst to Lensing was a gross invasion into her life as a mother. It, also, posed a risk for her professional reputation as a pediatric nurse.
“I absolutely feel as though my privacy was violated,” the shamed mother said, according toToday. “I had recently started working on a labor floor, and I was terrified of my coworkers or boss seeing the photo and comments and believing that I should no longer work with infants. Thankfully, this never happened.”
It is hard to have a private, quiet moment to yourself in this technological age. Just because we have the ability to capture a stranger’s intimate moments, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.
The pediatric nurse tries to ignore the comments left by cyber bullies, and “lean on those close” to her, according to Café Mom.
It was not all negative with the internet comments. Some viewers saw the photo and thought, “Oh, I have been there.”
Blogger Mary Katherine Backstrom was one such commenter who wrote:
“No. Just no. We do not snap photos of exhausted mothers in the airport and shame them publicly. This is gross and needs to stop. I’ve been this woman.”
It is high time we use our time and words to uplift one another, and not to tear each other down. It is disgusting how one can be so quick to judge, especially someone who has never been in that position before.
Mom-shaming and cyberbullying are an egregious abuse that must stop. Let’s find out all the facts and circumstances that surround an incident before we decide that we know best.
Please let us know in the comments section what you think about the spectator sport of judging moms, and if you have ever been a victim of this abuse.