Help Me - Chicago,IL

Hi C.,

I understand where you are coming from. I am a young mom (24) with 3 (yes, 3) kids and get the same reaction from people as well. I ignore it, but people do come up to me and comment on how young I look and ask if the kids are actually mine and not brothers and sisters. I politely tell them they are my own children and dont take it any further than that.

Whether your children dress nice or not, there behavior is what gets people to stare. They always comment on how well my kids act (most of the time) and ask how I manage with work, kids, and now that my kids are starting school, how I deal with homework. I tell them one day at a time.

People will stare and have a lot of trash to talk, whether or not you are a good mom, but you continue to do the best for you and your children. Cause at the end, they are the ones who will come back to you and say "thank you" for being a good mom!!!

GV

C....I've been there on the receiving end of the "looks"! I was a REALLY young mom at age 18 with one child, age 21 with two kids, and finally age 26 with three kids. Now when I get asked "Are you the mom or the sister?" to my oldest (she's 17 and I'm 35), I eat it up! So, rest assured, that one of these days, you will be on on the receiving end of those looks once again...but you'll get to smile about it! Trust me! :)

Ignore it! People will stare for so many ridiculous reasons (your kid is behaving/not behaving, wearing the right clothes/the wrong clothes, too fat/too thin, etc). You can't please everyone. You can't be worried about what someone else thinks. Heck, they may not be thinking something negative anyways. Just relax and enjoy your beautiful children!

I, too, would ignore it.

But then again, I sometimes look at younger moms with their kids (successfully, I might add) in tow and think "how on earth do they manage, yet I can't handle my 1 infant?". Heck, I find myself looking at moms with 3, 4, or 5 kids in amazement quite frequently, and not in a negative way!

So, sometimes the gawking might not always be a bad thing!

C.,
You keep on being the best mom you can be, as long as you know you are doing the right thing, the heck with what people think.
If you put all your energy into what people think, how can you do what is best for you and your kids. Just smile when people look at you, funny or otherwise. Then just go on about your business. I always say "smile it makes people wonnder" If they have nothing better to do than worry about how old you or your children are perhaps they are missing something in there lives.

ABSOLUTELY YOU SHOULD IGNORE IT!
I am 31 (and people still stare-- but I do often get asked if I'm 21) and have a 3 yr old that most people think is atleast 5 because she is tall and very behaved. I always wear jeans or yoga pants and running gymshoes, no makeup and a pony tail.....and I apparently look like a teenie bopper this way. I get stares, and often at times hear people saying things about my age or how my daughter is dressed. I always make sure she is very nicely dressed and perfectly combed no matter where we go because she is my princess. I wanted and planned her with more care than anything I've ever done in life.....and since I was blessed w/such perfection, It's my pleasure to enjoy her to the fullest. : D

No one and their bitterness or envy should take the fun out of it for us. Enjoy your babies! If you know that you are doing a great job, just know that when they stare it's exactly because of that. If it's not because of that, it's not your job to worry about it. Our job is to care for our little ones. They grow so fast!