This past weekend I went to the movies for the first time since becoming a mom. I was supposed to see that new Sarah Jessica Parker movie about being a working mom (which apparently tanked in movie theaters) but instead ended up seeing The Help with my pal Dena. While I missed my husband and baby girl it was nice to be out on a Saturday night just relaxing with a friend and enjoying a good movie.
And my goodness was it a good movie! I hadn’t read the book and really didn’t know much about the movie before Saturday night. I was struck by how powerful and inspiring it was. All through the movie you could hear people sniffling and I even caught Dena wiping her eyes at one point or another. You know it’s a good movie when the credits are rolling and literally no one in the movie theater moves to get up. We all sat in silence for what felt like 5 minutes before anyone started for the door.
There was one scene in particular that really affected me. This was the first time that I’ve seen a new movie since having my baby girl in May of this year. Being a mom has already changed me in many ways but my reaction to this particular scene caught me a little off guard.
In short, during this particular scene one of the featured moms hits her daughter who looks to be around the age of four. You then see the little girl being comforted by her nanny while her mom looks like she feels bad for exactly 30 seconds before she moves on.
I watched this scene and sat in my seat in shock by the emotion that overtook me. It was incredibly upsetting to see this little innocent girl be hit by her mom - so upsetting that it reinforced my belief that hitting children is not an effective form of punishment. I felt an overwhelming sense of injustice and horror that honestly is still affecting me today.
When my baby girl woke up the next morning I looked at her and wondered how any parent could do that to their child. What are your thoughts? How do you discipline your children?
Michelle lives in Hartford County with her husband Dan and their new baby Lillian (born May 25th). During the day she works full-time doing event & project management and she serves as the Co-Chair of the National Mothers & Caregivers Economic Rights Advisory Committee. She is the founder and editor of www.ctworkingmoms.com, blogs for WorkingMother.com about the politics of motherhood and occasionally blogs for momsrising.org. Two of her greatest challenges as a working mom are figuring out how to fit exercise into her daily schedule and how to split responsibilities between her and her husband to ensure a more equitable distribution of work. She really loves being a working mom and enjoys connecting with other women that are doing their best to stay sane while balancing all of life’s challenges!
I want to say thank you to Michelle for a great post and contributing this week
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