Fake Empathy Gone Wrong

I woke up this morning to several tweets about a new ad appearing on Motrin's website. The ad campaign attempts to empathize with moms, saying "we feel your pain." Great concept, extremely poor execution. The ad at the center of the mounting controversy has a voiceover of a "mom" talking about how much of a pain it is to wear your baby and how she does it for her child, but only because it is fashionable and/or "supposedly" good for them.

Really? Generations of women across the globe have been wearing their babies for fashion? The countless women today that wear their babies do so based upon the idea that it is "supposedly" good for them? Really? You feel my pain as a mother?

I think not. Countless studies have shown real, measurable (i.e. proven) benefits to wearing your child. Even if there were NO scientific evidence that wearing your child was beneficial for the child I would wear my children. I wear them to be close to them, I wear them to comfort them, I wear them to comfort myself, I wear them because it is more convenient that a stroller, I wear them because it is easier than lugging around a baby in an infant seat, I wear them because I love them...I could go on.

I do not wear them because of scientific research (although it is nice when studies prove what moms have known all along). I do not wear them because it is fashionable (although we are blessed that mainstream culture has found it acceptable and that has increased the choices we have for carriers and accessories).

Motrin hasn't shown empathy, they have just ticked us off. Do you need proof of that? This morning when I first heard about this ad, other moms on Twitter were tagging their tweets with #motrinmoms. Curious, I googled motrinmoms (ironically as I was trying to decide which carrier to take with me to church) and got 50 results. This afternoon I refreshed my earlier google search and found 1,390 results. I think there is even a Facebook page now!

I hope that the ad execs get a virtual hailstorm of responses from us. I want to say that someone deserves a bad day tomorrow, but alas, nobody deserves a bad day. I just hope this is a learning experience!

I am proud of all of the moms and dads out there who have reacted to this ad. I hope that our responses will send a clear message to Motrin. We aren't idiots, don't insult us by treating us like idiots. Does my back hurt after a long day spent carrying my child in a carrier? Yes (how badly depends on the carrier). But to suggest that I do it for fashion or because there are merely supposed benefits is insulting.

It's great to buy items made by moms!

That is why I LOVE Etsy. It is a website where you can buy and sell things that have been handmade. Not all things are made by moms, but you can find a ton of cool things and many are made by either moms who work at home or moms just trying to get their craft on while making a little extra money for their families.

For example, as you can see from previous posts I am a babywearing advocate. I was in the market for a carrier that went over both shoulders, but wasn't quite as bulky as the Ergo carrier (which is great for longer hauls and bigger kids). I found a woman on Etsy who makes mei tai baby carriers for a fraction of the cost of the more well-known designers. The kicker is that they are SO well-made! The people who sell things on Etsy take pride in what they produce so I have found the quality to be amazing.

I can't say enough about this site and the people who sells things on it!

Signing On

This blog is named in honor of my mother who spent countless hours in the wee hours of the morning writing letters at the kitchen table with an inconsolable, cranky, screaming baby (me) on her lap. Most of the letters were never sent, but the practice gave her something to do when nothing would calm me down and she knew she wouldn't sleep until I did. She later told me that she thought of publishing those many letters in a book she would title "Letters After Midnight." Now that I too have become a mother (to another screamer no less) and find that the only peaceful time I have to myself is after midnight, I thought the title only appropriate. So, this is for you Mom! I love you so much and have only just begun to realize how much you sacrificed for me.