Listen to this story being read by Laura Jackel, here.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have covered two parenting stories that have got women talking.
There was the article about two-year-old TikTok 'star' Wren Eleanor and mum Jacquelyn, and how her fame led to parents deleting photos of their kids. Then there was the 'peach test' story about the illustrator and mum Mary Catherine Starr, whose comic about parenting double standards went viral.
As I typed the articles and read the online comments, I felt a deep sense of discomfort about mum-shaming.
You may not agree with either of the women, but at the heart of these two stories are real-life mums who love their kids. Neither of them broke the law or hurt anyone.
Watch: Laura Byrne on being a 'good mum'. Post continues below.
They ended up, however, like many other mothers the internet disagrees with: at the bottom of a pile on. Both received abusive messages and were globally shamed for their choices and opinions.
Top Comments
With Wren's mum, I don't think people need to be abused, but come on. You can't work out for yourself that sharing a photo of your little kid in bathers to millions of people isn't really a great idea because of the countless predators out there? Or did she realise and just forge ahead anyway for the clicks and the money? Nope, stuff like that needs calling out, just don't be abusive about it.