Together we are amazing

I may have missed something somewhere along the line, but a recent email from BritMums alerted me to a new campaign called Mums Stands Together aimed at encouraging mums to support and respect each other. There are further details on the The Mummy Whisperer’s BritMums post - Stop Slagging off Your Sister!  

The email from BritMums arrived in my inbox on my way home from the school run, and I have to admit to feeling a little deflated. I’d logged onto Twitter earlier that afternoon feeling isolated working from at home, and I’d been greeted with a fun and friendly community that gave me a much-needed boost, as Twitter often does.

So it came as a blow to discover there is a need for a campaign to bring mums together and support each other. I’d been completely unaware. 

Perhaps I’ve developed a thicker skin over the years. Perhaps I simply don’t spend quite as much time online as I used to. Perhaps I’m simply out of the loop, but watching this short video today reminded me that we are all part of something amazing and exciting and growing bigger and better by the day.

I wish the BritMums campaign all the very best. I have witnessed the criticism that mums face, all too often from other mums, even if I haven’t felt any of it myself in recent weeks. 

We’re mums, we’re bloggers, we’re amazing. Collectively we have a huge following online. We're in a position of influence and there is room on the vast Internet for all of us. 

We’re a force to be reckoned with and each and every one of use has something unique and valuable to say. Let’s respect each other and continue to do what we are doing. 

Mums in social media have power. We’re amazing, when you stop to think about it.

Comments

[Ali]

Here Here, as usual nicely said. As I was reading that I had your voice in my head :-) I am now giving you a massive clap :-)

Of course I read what you had written before I watched the video point proven me thinks!!!! :-)

[Rosie Scribble]

You heard my voice in your head Ali? That's funny!

And thank you :-)

[Michelle]

I have not read about this yet either but received the email, I have to investigate further.

You are so right about what an amazing force us parent bloggers are when we join together - we rock!

Mich x

[Susanna]

You are an amazing lady Rosie! Here's to parent bloggers. x

[Mammasaurus]

I think there is a lovely sentiment behind the campaign however I am not convinced that it's totally called for.

It could almost work against the very positive enforcement that it sets out to promote. Is it saying that the bitchiness is just too terrible in the blogworld? I have come across 2 instances of someone saying something offensive about another blogger in my 6 months.

Promoting better communication so that people can 'clear the air' over disputes may help - however who is to judge what is unreasonable?

We all know to work to the ethos of don't say to others things that you wouldn't yourself like to hear, however snap judgements, a crappy tweet or rather bitchy comment are by far the minority in my opinion - and by highlighting the tiny percentage of nastiness it makes it sound more prevalent that it actually is...

[Iota]

Yes, nicely said.

[Jennifer Howze]

Nice post, Rosie. Yes it's unfortunate that these campaigns are needed, but it's positive that the community itself is mobilising around a positive message. Also, thick skin is good!

[Rosie Scribble]

I think the influence we have and the campaigns we have been involved with really stand us in good stead for the future. We really do rock! Thanks Mich x

[Rosie Scribble]

Thank you, Susanna. I'll raise a glass to parent bloggers everywhere. Cheers! x

[Rosie Scribble]

I agree with you Mammasaurus. I do think the negativity that exists is in the minority and campaigns such as this are at risk of making the issue appear bigger than it really is, and in doing so can damage the sense of community rather than strengthening it. Respect all round seems to be the answer of the word of the day, not just in the blogosphere but in the world generally. Although I don't think that's an issue I'd want to attempt to tackle!

[Rosie Scribble]

Thank you, Iota.

[Rosie Scribble]

Thank you, Jen. I think communication via social media can be tricky at times. It's so easy to misinterpret a tweet and take a comment the wrong way. Respect for each other seems to be the way forward. Reminding us all of that is no bad thing, although I think the nastiness that appears to exists out there at times is in the minority. I don't think there would be so many of us out there blogging if is was really so bad. :)

[TheBoyandMe]

Love that video, thanks for highlighting it.

I just find it a shame that the campaign is not inclusive of dad bloggers too

[Mummy Whisperer]

Hi Rosie, someone pointed me to your blog post, so hope you don't mind me commenting.

Just a couple of points of clarification - this isn't a BritMums campaign. It's my campaign. I contacted Tots100, Love All Blogs and BritMums about it to let them know. Britmums featured it in their newsletter, and Love all blogs asked me to submit a post for their weekly round up.

My post was NOT about bloggers. But we are an example of what can happen sometimes.

This is what I said the campaign was about ...
To strengthen the position of Mums in society.
To encourage Mums to feel strong and confident in our differences
To help them to appreciate that given different circumstances and different shoes, they might be different too

So the bit I was talking about that BritMums were supporting me on, was to create an idea that would stick in Mums heads, so that when they next got upset about something, they wouldn't waste valuable time, energy and social/political power publicly having a slanging match (e.g. media, school gates, friends, neighbours, bloggers etc etc). Instead they would take a step back, think about standing in the other Mums shoes and know that it's OK to have a different opinion.

Hope this explains it more - there's a lot to my ideas, and it was just one blog post - I hope over the next few weeks to find a way to make it more clear and less confusing to people. But ultimately this is a campaign that will take years to run. But I believe it's important, because Mums are really important in society (no, I don't mean more important than anyone else).

[Rosie Scribble]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for taking the time to write such a comprehensive reply. It does clarify things, yes, and I certainly do agree that mums could be more supportive of each other at times and I support your campaign and what it aims to achieve.

As a single parent I have received more than my fair share of criticism so I agree completely that taking a step back and thinking about standing in the other person's shoes would be helpful and welcomed. As women, I do think we should be more accepting and supportive of each other.

My post was a reaction to the email I received with the headline 'Stop slagging off your sister'. This, together with the title and the introduction to your piece on the BritMums site (which starts by saying the The mum-o-sphere is full of opinions, rants and let’s face it some downright nasty slagging off. Lisa Pearson, who blogs at The Mummy Whisperer, thinks it is time for this to stop) did to me give the impression that the BritMums post was referring to bloggers. I am glad you have clarified that it isn't about bloggers as I think that clarification was needed.

I do, of course wish you all the best with the campaign. I can certainly see the positives. I think the angle BritMums took wasn't particularly helpful although I appreciate the value in them backing the campaign and highlighting the work you are doing.

If you ever want to guest post on my site to explain the campaign further, you are very welcome. If nothing else, this has got people talking about how mums treat each other and what issues there are out there, which I think can only be a good thing.

Rosie x

[Rosie Scribble]

Perhaps Dad bloggers are just too nice! I think the aim of the campaign is to strengthen the position of mums everywhere so perhaps their needs are slightly different to dads. Perhaps they need an entirely different campaign.

[Mummy Whisperer]

Thanks Rosie!

Yep @theboyandme I totally get that Dads and everyone has problems sometimes, but it's very tricky to be really targeted with a program if you don't cut it down a bit. Hence I was actually in the past a coach/therapist for anyone anywhere, but it's a hell of a lot easier to be 'The mummy whisperer' and hence all my language is aimed at Mums - does that make sense? But if there was a Dad campaign or a Parent campaign, then I'd just make sure that the Mum campaign supported and promoted them too.