Parents, how important is your image to you?

gothika

New member
i know it was important in high school and even in college, and also at work. but as a parent, does image hold great importance to you when presented to other parents? like if you were known as the strong parent, do you not for one minute show weakness to them? if you were known as the compassionate parent, do you make sure you're always there to help out in school or community activities to maintain that image?
 
Image isn't important to me really. I'm not technically a parent yet but I was always seen as the "pretty one" yet when I started getting further into my pregnancy I gave up on being that person. I no longer wear makeup, I have my hair up every day and I'm always in sweats. I've changed because it takes too much out of me to spend an hour trying to look perfect when I have no one to look perfect for. My husband is the only one who I could care about caring how I look and in 2 months he's gonna see an angry, hot mess of a woman giving birth to his child lol.
 
It holds as much or more importance to me as it ever has. If I look like I do not take care of myself or don't have my life together, or cannot handle things, it's not only a reflection on me, but on the rest of my family. I do not want them to have a bad reputation or a bad association because of my actions.

I don't give a crap what other parents think of me though. At least not from a parenting standpoint. In fact, if they think I'm doing too much right, I seriously start questioning what I'm doing *wrong.* I have very different beliefs than most parents do, fundamental beliefs that I cannot reconcile changing or concealing for the sake of appeasement or "looking good" in other parents' eyes. My social opportunities with other mothers is the sacrifice I make. I'm fine with that, I grew up understanding that that is the case with my entire family, and I've never known any different. I don't hang out with people as a group of parents, so I have no "image" to uphold with them on parenting specifically. My friends are friends from other associations like work or sport, or are related to me in some way; it's just not in my nature to seek out other parents whose kids happen to be in my daughter's age range or through our kids.
 
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