Are Babies Bad For Our Health?

Monday morning is music class, Tuesday it’s swimming, Wednesday means a field trip with a friend and her kids, Thursday there’s Playball (toddlers rolling balls on a tennis court) and Friday, well, who cares. It’s something and it’s not for my benefit, but for the amusement and possible edification of my 22-month-old daughter.

Amanda Kelly in the Daily Mail says modern parenting is bad for our health.

“In reality, few of us have the ‘earth mother’ gene; most of us have to work really hard at it. But while it’s socially acceptable to own up to career burnout, parenting burnout is a different matter,” Kelly writes in Beware baby burnout! Fear we’re failing to get it right, we jam our weeks full of activities.

Here I was thinking it was just me.

“If we are honest, despite the intense love we have for our children,” she goes on, “they are actually bad for our health, both physically and emotionally.”

Here are her reasons:

1. We try too hard to be fabulous leaving us drained and feeling inadequate.

2. Pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding can lead to the blues and saps your energy.

3. Many of us moms are older and more tired.

4. Even Angelina Jolie must be pooped.

5. Most of us work and feel guilty we’re not giving enough of ourselves to our kids or our jobs.

6. Feeling inadequate, we over-compensate by doing too much.

7. We ignore our partners or fight with them over the kids. (Not so good for the sex life, which probably is good for our health.)

Ms. Kelly doesn’t mention the one mommy-related issue that hurts my health: all those colds my daughter picks up and passes to me.

In the end, though, I’m not convinced. As I hammer out a few last sentences, my daughter — briefly entertained by her father, The Simpsons, a red ball, a stack of books and her favorite bear — toddles over and says “Mama kiss” before planting a big wet one on my face.

They can’t be too bad for your health.

Photo by o5com.

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