Kristen Bell, who stars in the film Bad Moms, recently shared her own ‘bad mom’ confession with the world – about that one time she pretended to be asleep when her daughter, Delta, came looking for her early one morning.
But she wasn’t alone – her husband, Dax Shephard, and three-year-old, Lincoln, were all in on it (although we’re sure Lincoln was actually sleeping).
And while it gives us a little insight into the life she shares with her family, it’s not really that unusual, is it?
Most of us are guilty of pretending to not hear the kids when they wake up in the middle of the night, fairly regularly.
And there are some (like me) who pretend to be asleep just long enough for our significant other to get up and deal with whatever needs to be dealt with...
It is fair? Probably not. Is it a sign of bad mothering? No.
Pretending to be asleep doesn’t make us ‘bad moms’ - it proves we're real mums.
Parenting is exhausting; constantly being woken up in the middle of the night or being asked to do something as soon as you sit down is exhausting. Like mind-numbingly exhausting.
And most of us have a few tricks up our sleeves to make it easier.
So what if you leave a bowl on the counter so your little one can get their own breakfast in the morning? Sure, you’re teaching them independence.
And what's the harm in letting them play computer games or watch telly while you sit down for a few minutes peace? Eh, no harm.
Being a mum is tough so rather than confess the times we were 'bad moms' let us share the tricks we have learned to get us through the tough times.
Mary Byrne is Deputy Editor at MummyPages and is mum to her eight-year-old daughter, Aoibhe. You can follow her on Twitter @marybyrne321.
