An Interview with Maggie: Momma Blogger

I can't help but think about how quickly our world has changed lately. Everything seems to revolve around blogging, podcasts and social networking. I often wonder how, if at all, this is impacting the way our generation is parenting. For this issue of From Belly to Baby I interviewed Maggie, mom of two with another one on the way. Maggie has enthusiastically jumped on the blogging bandwagon and also works part time outside the home. Her creative ideas can be found at www.smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com. She currently has over 700 followers.

Why did you start this blog in the first place?

I started writing my blog last summer, almost a year ago actually. I first started it as a way to keep our family and friends in the know of what we were up to now that we had kids. It was just taking too much time to upload pictures to emails and write little captions with them, plus I disliked having to send such big emails. The blog was a great way to keep everything in one easy place for everyone to look up if they wanted to do so. Now, I'm really glad I started it because it's become on online journal for me where I write about my life with the kids (the funny things they do or say), things we do as a family, recipes we love, fun things I've sewn or crafted up and it's just all around a great place for me to talk about whatever is on my mind. I like the idea that it is out there and when my kids are older they can look back and see who their momma is/was as a person.

Do you think that social networking and blogging has changed the way people parent?

I do think social networking and blogging both have changed the way we parent. Mainly because we can see how others do things and that we are not alone in many of the choices we make as moms or parents. There are so many styles of blogs out there, do-it-yourself craft blogs, mommy blogs, adoption blogs, new parent blogs, healthy living blogs, parents of autistic children blogs, etc that you can read about such a variety of topics. It's a nice way to get an inside view of someone else's life and the challenges they go through especially if you are going through the same challenges yourself. Blogs are a great way to make new friends too. I have met some of the sweetest people through writing my blog and we now have these great friendships. We chat on a weekly basis and we get and give advice on parenting through certain milestones...it's really nice.

Social networking is nice too because it connects (or reconnects) you with friends you may not live near or haven't seen in a while and gives you some insight into their life and who've they've become now that you aren't seeing them as often. You can ask questions about anything in your status updates or personal messages and get loads of responses from all your friends. You are sure to get many differing views but that can be a good thing. I have been asked lots of questions about making your own baby food, my favourite cloth diapering picks, to even which babysitters or preschools I recommend. It's a really great avenue for just being able to throw a question out there and see what kind of a response you'll get if you are trying to make a decision about something. Sometimes it's nice to have detailed reviews of things from people you know!

Do you think there are any drawbacks to people informing themselves and connecting on the web?

Oh yes! You really have to read everything with caution. In the blogging world, most people are not professionals by any means and are just throwing their opinions out there. It's similar to attempting to diagnose yourself via the web for a medical condition; you have to realize that these are mainly people's opinions and many times not researched facts. Depending on what you are reading about you definitely need to do your own research.

The other problem that can arise with both social networking and blogging is the amount of time you spend on the internet. I have struggled with this especially when I have so much I want to write about and there just aren't as many days in the week as I would like. I mainly try to write my blog when the kids nap or are in bed for the night but sometimes that doesn't happen and you can get sucked into spending way more time than you ever imagined online. I think we all have to watch out for that because really we all know that our real life families are much more important! When you're a new momma, it's nice to have the internet to turn to when you are stuck in the house and the baby is sleeping for so many hours each day but you have to have balance too...that is key!