The more time I spend on the Internet, the more things I see that make me embarrassed to be a member of the group simply known as "parents." I am one of those mothers who thinks the folks over at STFU Parents are absolutely and completely on target when they say there are some who need a guide on what NOT to post about their kids on social media. But this was a first for me.
A friend sent me a little video that she'd found on the Internet, and I unwittingly opened it up. Only to find a toddler sitting inside a toilet. And by toilet, I mean one of those places where you let loose your fecal matter. And by inside I mean INSIDE.
Ladies and gentleman, I offer you a chance to take a look, but only if you are of steel stomach, and the above description did not already ensure you've got the gist of the situation:
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
Is your life really better because you saw that?
I will confess I have a bit of a weak stomach. I have thrown out hairbrushes that fell in my toilet because I'm too skeeved to put them anywhere near my kid's head -- even if they were to be washed in hot water with bleach. So I'm willing to admit that may have to do with the retching sounds still emanating from my mouth at this very instant.
The first thing I thought when I saw the boy in there was "OMG, germs! Get him out of there!" This mother, on the other hand, saw her 18-month-old son stuck in a potty and apparently thought, "OMG, where's the video camera?" And then, to top it all off, she didn't just share her magnum poopus, er, opus, with the boy's father but with the entire Internet.
Now some are on her YouTube stream calling this child abuse. Considering the kid got in there himself, I wouldn't go that far. The move to call everything "child abuse" these days is almost as over-the-top as oversharing parents are in their zeal to show of their kids' zaniest new move. Fact is, there are disgusting things that happen every day when you have kids, normal things that just fall into the routine.
That doesn't make them abusive. But it also doesn't make them appropriate for the Internet.
Kids do stupid things. They're kids. Moms and Dads, we don't have that excuse! So next time you want to pull out the video camera, do yourself a favor. Think about whether you'd want to see your best friend in that situation. Or yourself for that matter.
What's the worst case of parents oversharing on the Internet that you've experienced?
Image via YouTube