Mom Shaming

What is mom shaming?

Bullying a mom for her parenting choices

Mom shaming is when a person bullies a mother about her parenting choices. The shaming may occur as blunt or subtle verbal criticisms in person, nonverbal expressions, such as eye rolls or snickering, or as comments online on social media and parenting forums.

While moms may be shamed by all types of people, mom shaming is usually perpetrated by other moms who gang up on another mom that does things differently with her kids than the other moms. This may be because they are insecure about their own parenting abilities or they look down on anyone who does things differently than what they think is right.

Many people believe that mom shaming is a product of a greater societal problem, where moms are expected to be perfect, nurturing parents. Another facet of the issue is the low expectations of fathers' roles in their kids' lives. This leads to "Dad praising," which is when dads are glorified for performing the most mundane of parenting duties, such as changing diapers or grocery shopping with kids.

Some examples of mom shaming include criticizing the food she feeds them, the messiness of her house, the clothes her kids wear, how long she breastfeeds her kids, what kind of birthday parties she throws, what she wears, and whether or not she works. The term may also appear as "Mom-shaming" or "Mommy shaming."

Example

Betsy was mom shaming the young woman at the park for letting her kid drink some of her soda

When the mom shamers come after you

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Updated September 25, 2019

Mom shaming definition by Slang.net

This page explains what the slang term "Mom shaming" means. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been written and compiled by the Slang.net team.

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