Country singer Jana Kramer recently became a mom. And like most new parents, she loves taking and sharing pictures of her precious baby girl, Jolie. But to her surprise, a seemingly innocent photo that she posted on Instagram led to her being mommy-shamed by complete strangers!
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Jana often posts pictures and updates on her social pages, explaining:
"I, like many moms, famous or not, enjoy sharing my life. It makes me feel like I am a part of a community. It allows me, when on the road, to update my close friends and family in one quick exchange, rather than making multiple calls and sending several texts."
So, when it was time for the bottle fed 4-month-old Jolie to start trying spoonfuls of baby food, Jana and her husband were thrilled to announce the exciting milestone. She shared a photo to her Instagram account of the grocery store conveyor belt filled with baby food, along with the caption, "And it begins."
To Jana's surprise, many of the responses to the photo were folks criticizing her for opting to purchase baby food from a store, rather than steam, puree and prepare the food herself. And the hardworking and loving mom didn't appreciate being mommy-shamed.
In a response she wrote for TIME‘s Motto blog, Jana expressed her frustration with the fact that there is so much scrutiny these days around what we feed our kids -- that if you are unable to breastfeed and make homemade baby food, you're perceived as a bad mom. She explained that she had picked what was right for her and her daughter.
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In response to the negative attention, Jana posted another photo -- this time a picture of a handwritten message.
"Dear Mommy-Shamers,
Unless you are Jolie's doctor, her father, or her mom, do not tell me how to raise my child or how to feed her."
In the caption, Jana thanked the fans who'd stood up for her. She requested that anyone who had anything negative to say about her or her daughter to kindly keep it to themselves!
"People write negative stuff on my Instagram and Twitter all the time, but when it's attacking me as a mother and my daughter -- that hits so much harder," she explained.
"We're all going to raise our children differently," she went on to say. "Moms need all the help we can get and I just wish that we would all work together and not against each other."
What a great reminder that unsolicited advice, even if it's well-meaning, can sometimes do more harm than good!
h/t: Little Things
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