The fake lives of Instagram moms and dads

We know all about the Instagram Mum from four or five years ago. The woman who liked to post pictures of her tots online but all you could see when you looked were her cleavage or her hips and ample derriere.

We now have the less subtle, new age Instagram Mum. This one is not fixated on her body parts but if you can’t see beyond the gloss, she can make you feel inadequate both as a woman and a mother. At a glance, this woman has figured it all out.

She will post a magnificent photograph of herself at a power meeting early in the morning and then a heartwarming one of her and her children on an outing that very afternoon.

You will notice how she never seems out of breath and how her appearance is never fazed. Also, unlike your toddler who can barely sit still for two seconds, her children seem well behaved and are always smiling.

If you have encountered this woman and even fleetingly wondered what you have been doing wrong or wondered how much easier parenting would be if you were like her with her means and fame, then you have encountered the greatest scam of 2020. Parenting is never effortless.

Every mother will have a day when the most she can do with her appearance is wash her face. If this Super Mum showed you the whole truth, you might even give yourself a little pat in the back.

Instagram dad

Then there is the Instagram dad. This one is even more dangerous because he will steal your heart. Sometime last year, I encountered a young dad who was raising his little boy alone. He told me women flocked to his DM and they sometimes came knocking on his door.

A woman in his neighbourhood had even told him that every time she saw him and his son out on a walk, she longed to be the one that completed their family equation. When he plays his role right, the Instagram dad will elicit a similar reaction.

He may not litter his pages with photographs of himself or of his brood but when he does share, it is always with a moving caption. He angles himself as a present, hands on father. He will be separated or divorced but he will appear to play his role so well that he will have you thinking about the pitter patter of tiny feet on your floors.

Single Mum

He will have you thinking that if you have children with him, they will be forever well loved and taken care of. He might even have you wondering about what is wrong with your partner. Why he can’t be as involved with the kids.

I know you have heard this before but don’t believe everything you see. Social media personalities are brands. People will only post that which aligns with the brand they want to sell.

Of course she will not show you that time she had a melt down and he will not be raving about the fights he has with his significant other because she feels like a single Mum.

I do not think that there is anyone who has quite figured out this parenting thing. Every parent should do their best and there shouldn’t be room for competition.

If you want to have a baby with someone, ignore whatever he posted on Instagram and wait until you have seen his parenting skills first hand. The grass really isn’t greener on the other side.