A mum has gone viral for her powerful Facebook post about a mother taking her child to the pool.
The mother Jen Flint, from Florida, described didn’t splash around and have fun, but instead seemed more interested in capturing a fake version of the day for her social media followers.
Jen wrote on Facebook: ‘Yesterday while at the pool I watched a young Mama and her little daughter enter the pool area dressed in very nice coordinating swimming suits.
‘The mom, with her perfect loose curls tied up in a coordinating scarf, spent the first few minutes talking loudly on her phone to a friend while her daughter stood waiting to get into the pool.
‘Mom ended the phone call and proceeded to spread out pool toys and sunscreen on a matching towel.
‘Then after finding just the right angle and the right light, Mama pulled out her tripod and took a few selfies with her daughter.
‘Little One asked to get in the pool. Mama said wait and then posed her daughter in front the pool, then going in to the pool and then coming back out of the pool.
‘Little one smiled big and said “cheese” like she’d done it a million times. Then Mama told her she could play.
‘Little One walked in and swam around for a couple of minutes. Mama called a friend on her phone and began another conversation while Little One politely and repeatedly asked “Mama, can you come in the water with me, please?” She was ignored. “Mama, come play with me?” she asked 4 more times. Mama glanced over at her but never got off the phone.
‘After 10 minutes Mama ended her call, collected the sunscreen that was never applied, the water toys that never touched the water, and then her daughter and left the pool.’
Watching the scene play out, Jen thought about the resulting photos that might be posted on Instagram, and how they might affect other parents seeing them.
She explained that when your life isn’t so picture perfect, seeing a mum’s perfectly posed day at the pool might make you feel like a massive failure.
Think about it: you see a picture of a mum and daughter looking full of joy at the pool, then immediately compare that fake version of events to their reality: their child throwing a tantrum or covered in sticky ice cream.
That’s not going to make anyone feel good.
‘Somewhere another Mama is going to be at home with her children, the house a mess from their play, her hair unruly from a day of mothering and her clothes dirty with spit up or peanut butter,’ wrote Jen. ‘She’s going to be tired because she’s spent her day cooking, caring, cleaning and playing with her children.
‘She’s going to look at that photo and she is going to compare herself to the perfect Mama at the pool.
‘The Adversary is going to whisper into her ear “you aren’t good enough… You don’t look like that Mama at the pool… You don’t have money to buy expensive swimming suits like that and you don’t have time to make memories like she is” and that young Mama is going to believe it. She’s going to feel like a failure.
‘She’ll never know that how she spent her time that day was so much better in God’s eyes and in her children’s eyes than that “perfect Mama” at the pool.’
Jen shared the story to remind everyone that what you see on social media isn’t real, and it’s not fair to compare your reality to one person’s filtered moment.
‘What we see on Social Media isn’t always real,’ she wrote. ‘Sometimes and often it’s a complete set-up. It’s staged and filtered and it’s counterfeit.
‘Sometimes we do see absolutely real photos of vacations and beautiful homes and freshly done hair but it’s only ONE moment. It’s the very best moment out of a whole day spent much like our own. Working, cleaning, and messes…
‘Mamas, don’t compare yourself.
‘You ARE enough! You are amazing and the very best part is that you are REAL! Your dirty shirt and your messy house and your happy children are real and they are proof that you are doing it right!’
That message clearly struck a chord, as Jen’s post ended up being shared more than 130,000 times.
We know full well that what’s on Instagram is filtered, posed, and only reflects the best parts of someone’s life, but we occasionally need a reminder before the comparison hits.
MORE: Mum shares easy trick for speedily getting sand off your feet
MORE: Mum faces going completely deaf if she has another child
MORE: Instagram is about to get even more adverts and there’s no escape
