To think not another bloody Facebook challenge!

[MrsOlaf78]

I don't mind the charity ones but it's these other pointless ones that turn my feed into a sea of monotony. The latest one seems to be:

Motherhood Challenge: I was nominated to post 5 pictures that make me happy to be a Mother. I'm tagging 10 people that I think are great Mothers to post 5 pictures for the Motherhood Challenge! I will copy and paste this in the comments below for you. Here are my 5 pictures that make me happy to be a mother x

Pass the sick bucket purlease!! So the mothers you didn't nominate aren't good mothers in your opinion?! Honestly do Facebook invent these things to get all these egotistical lemmings to use their site even more?! I'm waiting for the "post something vaguely interesting challenge!"

Another one who came to share the bbc news story. How is this making the news?

Dammit I've made the news and I can't tell anyone because I've been slagging my mil off under this username!

How about a challenge to only send people photos and news by email, so it can be individual to each person?

OMG I'm finally famous. Am I finally MN Royalty? Am I?

I can't find the energy to be offended or hurt by this - and I'm a mother to two babies, only one of whom is living.

I'm going to point this out again...from my earlier post, that if you're going to be sharing photos online of your children in the bath (and I'm not suggesting any of you are, but I've seen it from someone else) please check your privacy settings first! For your own DC's dignity if nothing else. Tagging lots of people in the post, as required by the 'challenge' means those peoples' friends can also see those photos. I for one don't want to see pictures of strangers' naked children thanks.

MrsTerry I'd say yes you are definitely MN royalty. I'm not sure I have the authority to approve it. But ah well.

Thanks Lilly

I'm with everyone who finds this sort of crap beyond annoying.

I mean, I love my friends and I get that they adore their DDs and DSs. But, as someone who desperately wanted children but couldn't, this sort of thing just makes me feel like society wants to me to feel like a failure. It's as if the subtext is 'being a mother is the only useful thing you can do and if you're not then you're an inadequate person'. Which I'm not. But like most childless-not-by-choice I have my Achilles heel and these things can sucker punch me on even a good day.
BTW, most of my friends know of mine and DH's struggle, but unfortunately as they all have beautiful kiddies none of them really 'get it'. In fact, whenever we'd had another hope dashed my closest friend used to tell me of all the people she knew who had gotten pregnant by accident, as if that was supposed to cheer me up. It didn't.

So, by all means enjoy your little darlings, but please don't be surprised if I don't celebrate the latest 'aren't mum's the greatest' bandwagon!

I ignore these postings. Most are done by much younger women than me. They (I think), have no thought about women (couples) who are childless/free, but I really believe they don't do it to be superior or whatever, they just get caught up with the whole FB thing, and I like seeing their lovely babies. I get though how it must be painful/annoying for some people, but I see that every day when I walk down the street. I lost my only baby at 17 weeks of pregnancy, he would be 20 this year (not that I know he was a boy, I just felt it). Let people enjoy their babies, it lasts such a little time really..

I think this sums it up pretty well...

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/02/facebook-motherhood-challenge

Its probably already been said but..

Currently 18 weeks pregnant after traumatically losing my stillborn daughter in august so not (yet) got any living children. I do however have 2 children imo - one as yet unborn, one stillborn.

Nobody will nominate me though - im not a 'proper' mother yet. Nobody will nominate the people that have been trying for years to concieve but it hasnt happened. Nobody will nominate the people who have had recurrent miscarriages.

I get that you cant run away from babies and pregnancy but this one is really horrid imho.

And as for letting people enjoy their babies.. they do every day. Unlike the mothers whose babies have died..

It's only a 'challenge' because that's what's become a shorthand for something to participate on Facebook. Pretty sure whoever started it would have thought it was a bit of fun, often people start stuff just to see how much it will spread. They may not have considered anyone feeling excluded/upset as it wasn't on their radar - or of course they might have just not cared!
I haven't participated for various reasons. But I don't object to other people doing it.

Here's my entry to the why I enjoy not being someone's mother. WooHoo!

Saccharine bullshit, but I don't hate it any more than the whole perfect family facade thing that ia rife on fb, blogs, tumblr, instagram, pinterest, etc. Real motherhood, like most things in real life, is at least as hard as it is rewarding. Not to mention that being a mother doesn't make a woman necessarily completely fulfilled and certainly not saintly or more admirable than a woman without children. Sigh. Happy to report that I have only seen maybe one of these on my modest and limited feed, and haven't been nominated.