Rocker Moms!

It mystifies me how people think that becoming a mother is going to totally change your whole personality. It also really annoys me how many people think that you can't have fun and be a parent, or that your own interests are going to completely go away! I haven't changed the type of music I listen to, the way I dress, or any of those sorts of things since I had my son a little over a year ago. I still love to have fun, and I still find the same things fun and interesting. I don't go out as much because I don't have babysitting, but I do still like to do fun things when I can! I really want my son to grow up feeling that he can have his own personality and still be a good person. I don't want him to feel like he has to fit into some kind of social mold other people created, and I'm not going to do that either. It amazes me how many things people assume about my parenting style just because of the things that interest me or the way I dress, and it saddens me as well that people think you can't be yourself and still a good parent.

hi aura, I think it would do good if you don't mind what other people think and say about you. As long as you're happy with the way you are and you show your love to your child, your little girl will see that, and she will respect you for who you are. Just continue to keep rocking and loving your kid at the same time.

cool: you have to follow what you like!

Good for you hun, be yourself. I have always been something of a *non-conformist* myself and I guess my user name gives it away :-) I still listened to my music while bringing up my son, and still wore my kind of clothes regardless of what other mums thought of me. My son was proud to say to his friends that he had a cool mum.

hmmm wouldn't it be difficult if later on yourkid gets older and sees you living your life the way you want to and yet you're strict with her? wouldn't there be a time when she'll ask that question? i think it would be ok if you'll be ok with your daughter turning out into some rocker chick later on, which is not necessarily a bad thing. but what if she starts to do typical teenager stuff that you might not agree with, and as a retort she'll throw your lifestyle in your face? i'm really all for living life the way we want to, but i also believe that we should also want to live our lives as examples, especially to younger people. i'm not saying this as judgment, but this just came to me because my day was so uneventful that it threw me into a fit of deep thinking. ;)

hehe, i want to tell you that my mom is a rocker. i'm 19 and she is 43. and she still wears what she wants, act like she wants. she gave me a great edducation and i love her for that. she raised me well

I am in the same boat as you are. I follow my own beat and listen to my own music. My son is 8 and I find in the area we live in now many of the Moms are much older than I am. Personally, I don't care how the other Moms looks at me. I don't dress inappropriately, but I am not going to dress in stuffy clothing either. Be who you want to be, teacher your child to be themselves. At least you only have the other Moms to contend with - I have an ex husband who doesn't get it and his whole family that thinks my son should be a football star and dress a certain way which is so not his style.

Hey Aura! :) Becoming a mom should never mean you have to stop being who you are!! My girls are older (17 and 13) but I've always tried to expose them to a wide variety of things... especially music. We love all kinds of music in our house and I do not censor what they listen to. They've always known what the "bad words" are in the lyrics and they know that they shouldn't sing them out loud LOL Don't get me wrong... I used to buy them a lot of "kid music" too and we'd have the greatest time singing along to Fred Penner and Joe Scruggs (who do great repetitive lyrics for young kids)... but we didn't immerse ourselves only in kid things. Case in point, my younger daughter came home from kindergarten one day and she was upset that not a single kid in her class knew who Fleetwood Mac was ROFL I had to explain to her that not everyone knows the same kinds of music. I had recently bought the video of "The Dance" (their reunion show) and she just loved it to pieces. I guess she thought, at the tender age of 5, that everyone else her age did too! LOL Keep on being yourself :) That's exactly what you want to model for your daughter.

dont listen to those soccer moms and just be what you are. i am a singer in a band and my kids grew up listening to the music i need for my singing. they learned aerosmith before abc's. so just be what you are then when your kid is bigger she will also be what she choose to be. as long as you dont hurt other people and you are not doing anything bad.... ROCK THE HOUSE AURA!!!!

me an my guy stand where we are as well. No need in changin who you are just because you have children. You are you, and that is how it is. We also march to a different beat, but hey thats what makes the world go around =) I am sure you are a great mother! I understand you! =)

Don't ever change who you are, theres absolutely no need to. When you had your child, you were the person you are. when you became pregnant, you were the same person, and as a mother you should be the same person.

Rock on, mom! Teaching your child individuality and standing up for what she believes in are much more important than teaching her conformity! She will grow to respect you so much more for knowing and being who you are as opposed to who people think you should be. That's what being a good role model is all about. There's a quote I've always liked from Shakespeare (from Hamlet, I think)- "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."