When I originally launched this blog in 2015, I intended to cultivate a place where I could write about parenting and all the oops and daisies that come with raising kids. I wanted it to be a space to talk about the challenges while also celebrating the joys, with other moms like me.
But over the years, I realized that as, what some might call, a ‘mommy blogger,’ I walked a fine line.
I wanted this blog to be about motherhood, honesty, and transparency—a place where other moms wouldn’t feel so alone—but talking about parenting means referencing my kids. And that right there? It makes me a bit uncomfortable; I never, ever want to exploit my kids in any way through my blogging. Because at the end of the day, my commitment is to keeping my kids safe and their lives private.
Ethical Storytelling and Parenting Blogs
My kids’ stories aren’t mine to tell and blast publicly to the wide world at large. So, I did what I thought was the responsible thing to do: I gave my kids nicknames, Little Miss and Buster. I also limited what stories I told, broadening their scope to things that I think other parents could see themselves in, but rarely specific to my kids. As you might imagine, that can be tricky, too. At what point do you draw the line in the sand?
Once again, I find the need to pivot. My kids are older now, one is a pre-teen, the other has a few years left of elementary school, and they have OPINIONS. I talk to them about online safety all the time (they will not be allowed social media until she’s 16, for starters). I also have been talking to them about my blog and how I write about parenting… and what they feel comfortable sharing with my readers.
But I also recognize they are kids. They don’t understand all the implications that come with sharing about our lives online. I started thinking about this more deeply a couple of years ago, when I took part in ‘ethical storytelling’ training with one of my past clients. Kids are too young to consent to having their lives shared online.
Our Responsibility as Storytellers
As storytellers and bloggers, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to share the stories of our families and kids in an ethical, responsible, safe way (if at all).
If I’m being fully transparent and honest (something I’ve always striven to do with this blog), I still struggle with this. One of my biggest goals for my blog, even now, is to create a safe space for moms so they feel less alone. Can I do that while also being respectful of my kids and not sharing their stories?
I feel like I’m still answering that question.
I still firmly believe it’s important to write about parenting, especially in this day and age where it can be challenging to connect with others and where our ‘village’ isn’t the same as it was for our parents’ generation.
But my priority is and always will be keeping my kids safe. It’s one reason, of many, that I decided to pivot this blog. It’s still about parenting and transparency… but it’s focusing more on the creative life and how we, as moms, can carve time and space for ourselves in our hectic lives—lives that we have also dedicated to raising resilient, healthy, wonderful children.
So, I hope you stay tuned. I have so many wonderful plans for this blog and this space, and I can’t wait to share them with you.
In the meantime, I want to hear from you: what’s your take on ethical storytelling and parenting / mommy blogs?
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