Ban against these clichés

I freelance as a copywriter, so naturally I’m always evaluating billboard messages, ads, and any marketing material for that matter. One of my biggest pet peeves is when companies advertise with the “Got milk?” slogan adapted to their product or service. “Got bugs?” “Got hair?” “Got teeth?” and so on. Hello? Could we be a little more creative? Don’t you have anything else to say about your product that you have to copy this campaign?

In the same way, I often find myself breathing deeply when I hear other people, particularly mothers, repeating clichés and parenting phrases that I feel are exaggerated and overly used. Phrases like “You should really think about being a mother, life will never be the same…” As they say this you imagine a boogery kid, with lice, and a scraped knee holding on to her leg in Walmart as she frantically tries to make her way through the aisle, screaming empty threats to the little brat.  Or, what about “Have fun now (when you’re pregnant and about to burst) and sleep while you can…” I mean, really? It’s not like we can accumulate fun or sleep anyway!

 I say enough with propagating these mother-scaring clichés, which we sometimes repeat without thinking that “unsure of having baby” ladies out there can actually believe motherhood is the end of all social and fulfilling life! There are so many other things to say about motherhood, why copy the negative attitude of a few? Motherhood is one of the most amazing and exciting things in life! Why not celebrate the fact that even though you might spend a few nights of interrupted sleep in your entire life span, when you cradle that jewel in your bosom you wish you didn’t have to go back to bed so you could watch her all night? How do you explain to someone that you spent half a day just rolling around the floor, playing with your kid and now you are too tired to care about going to the movies anyway?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not naïve thinking you never get tired or that at times you’d pay to sleep on a brick bench, but there are so many awesome, unparalleled things that come with parenting. Why not start good, positive clichés when we talk to others? Things like “Wait till you hear that first giggle! You’ll want to bottle-up the memory and put it on your night stand.” “Motherhood is an experience that’s so fulfilling, even though at times you may feel tired, it’s worth every second.” I mean, we get tired at work, and we still show up Monday mornings. You don’t hear people saying “Make sure you really want to work, it’s hard and sometimes you’ll have to work overtime for those mean bosses.” Of course not! That’s life, what else would there be if we had no challenges, no butts to wipe clean or tiny hands to hold? When we look at the grand picture of life, it really boils down to love and family, and that should never be a scary thing.

Let’s ban all negative motherhood clichés and let’s celebrate the truly wonderful experience it is.