It’s the end of the school year and summer is right around the corner. For most of us this time of year conjures up questions like “What do I get my kid’s teacher to show her how amazing she has been, but is unique and not to spendy?” or “End of the school year party time: Can’t I just send plates?” You know you’ve felt it and seen it, actually them. You know the moms who wrote Pinterest.
There are thousands of pictures of the perfect end of the year teacher gift or a cute treat to send home with the kids. It often makes me wonder who are these people and when do they sleep? According to a TODAY survey of 7,000 moms in the US 42 percent said that they sometimes suffer from “Pinterest stress” – the worry that they’re not crafty or creative enough.
Seriously, we’re not all creative. We just don’t have it in us! “75 percent report that the pressure they put on themselves is worse than any pressure or judgment they get from other moms. The result? Our average stress level is 8.5 out of 10, the survey says.” Moms, do you see that? 8.5 out of 10 on the stress scale because of what we say to ourselves!
Please, give yourself a break. We tell our daughters and ourselves not to set our standards as a woman based on glamor mags. In the same way, we don’t need to look to Pinterest for our standards as the ideal mother. A PBJ with chips and an apple is a great lunch. Most kids aren’t gonna sit down to lunch and appreciate the three hours you spent making Mario out of cheese. They are just gonna eat the cheese.
I love Pinterest and I get a lot of great ideas from Pinterest. However, I have to remind myself that it isn’t the ideal mother. It is a collaboration of thousands of mothers, giving their best ideas to help each other out. Well, at least that is what I think it is. Don’t stress because you aren’t able to do all the Pinterest posts. If you need a little affirmation, check out Pinterest Fail to see what other real people are dealing with when it comes to Pinterest.
