How Moms Made Friends

Before Mommy Blogs

Before the Internet, moms met each other at Mothers’ Centers, when they dropped off and picked up their kids from nursery school, at child birth classes, in their neighborhood where moms used to knock on each others’ doors for coffee and a chat, and at work. Moms still do that.

As time rolled on, depending on how chatty they were, moms also met at Starbucks, Legoland, summer camps, and parenting groups at schools. Moms formed play date groups, had girls’ nights out, and also met at sports if they were so inclined.Moms still do that,too.

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Then Came Mommy Blogs!

There are now hundreds of Mommy Blogs, so how do you choose who to link up with?

Different Mommy Personalities

Searching the web myself and starting my own blog, I’ve discovered that different websites and blogs and even facebook and twitter attract different mommy personalities, beliefs, and discussions.

I’ve noticed I have different visitors reading the posts on my home site, facebook and twitter who have different needs and ideas.

I’ve also found that different posts are favored on my home site, facebook and twitter. So moms favor reading in different places and finding friends there.

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Different Mommy Interests and

Ways of Relating

There are varied topics on the wide range of Mommy Blogs from recipes and diapers to behavior and parenting angst. Some topics are about activities and others about parent education such as child development

Different bloggers invite different levels of candor and even bluntness about “real life” as a mom.  Take a look at Laurie Hollman at Parental Intelligence or Magnolia Ripkin editor of Blunt Moms. The vast majority of blogging moms are cordial, mind their etiquette, are nonjudgmental, supportive and kind. Special Needs blog , Love that Max by Ellen Seidman supports moms who nurture their kids as they grow. A few, however, are argumentative, confrontational, and intense, interesting but not my personal cup of tea.

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Finding Mom’s Like Yourself

 

Some moms are soul searching for other moms who are adjusting to the changes motherhood brings.

Some mothers want to discuss husbands, partners,stay-at-home dads, working life, and being different shapes and sizes as a female.

Then there are bloggers who are in a specific country or locale and others who span the world.

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How Do You Make Friends

on Mommy Blogs?

Once you’ve settled in to your favorite blogs, you find a community. This is very much the way friend groups used to form in small geographic areas before blogging.

Moms find other moms who seem to think alike and feel for each other. You even find “best friends” who you can tell the “real stuff” to who reply in a jiffy when you need it.

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As Relationships Deepen

In time, you can get to know “who you’re talking to” and “to whom you can say what.” Pictures and videos help you conjure up what your friend looks like.

Then, certain moms begin to email so their conversations are more private than comments and replies on blog sites. These moms are focused on getting to know each other “from the inside.”

The biggest shift is when you use the telephone and hear a real voice behind the written word. Now, that’s making a friend. Or, you go to a mommy blogging conference and meet that friend or even fly across the country for a one-on-one meet!

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Group Blogger Moms Make Friends

Sometimes, you discover like-minded bloggers who join together on one website where they share their blogs and invite other bloggers to post. They edit content so that the moms are comfortable with each others’ writing and find they are making friends.

The Family Tone

These group blogging sites have a family tone. Sometimes their kids are of similar ages, though they benefit also if there’s a range of ages, too.

With different age kids discussed on one site, moms can look forward to what’s coming and share what’s gone on already with their children. This is like any family where members are of different ages.

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ALL –IN-ALL

As time flies by, which it always does when you’re a mom, you discover you are not alone.

This is what friendship is about.

You see in your friend’s face your reflection. You even mommy each other a bit. Friends do that.