Babies, boredom and backlash
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MummyBloggers
A woman named Catherine Cooper sparked outrage recently when she appeared on This Morning and admitted that she had, at certain times in her life, found herself bored by her children.Cue mass hysteria from one corner of the internet who were of the opinion that a mum ‘fessing up to being less than enthralled by a game of Peek-a-Boo is akin to child neglect.
Let’s all take a moment here.
Remove your Mum of the Year hat and consider what this mother actually said.
A grown woman has admitted that something which entertained her infant didn’t have quite the same effect on her. Stop the presses!
Much like we wouldn’t expect our children to watch us fill out tax return forms on the grounds that it would bore them to tears, we shouldn’t feel guilty that the 20th game of Clap Hands started to wear a bit thin for us.
Catherine never claimed to be disinterested in her kids. A disinterested mum wouldn’t be able to explain what it feels like to endure your 300th game of Peek-a-Boo, right? So, why the outrage?
Perhaps the people who took such offence at Catherine’s admission should take a deep breath, cast their mind back and ask if their heart was truly in every single game or activity they took part in with their child over the years.
I find it extremely difficult to believe that there exists any parent who hasn’t at some point in their lives found themselves bored by the repetitive nature of childcare and if there is, I doff my cap to you.
I truly believe you’re in the minority.
