International Women’s Day for new mums

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD). Given what we have all endured over the last couple of years during a global crisis, we need to stop and give praise to the women around the world who are united in collective trauma.

The theme in 2022 is #BreakTheBias, and everyone is urged to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against bias, and take action for equality. So, make this your day to do what you can to truly make a positive difference for women.

As a new mum, IWD may not feel all that relevant right now, but as you tend to the needs of your baby within the four walls of your house, it’s more relevant than ever. Making a positive difference for women now and in the future begins at home. And if you’re charged with the job of rearing the next generation, this is where you can make the biggest difference.

When you’re deep in the trenches of baby-wrangling, it probably feels a million miles away from changing the world. Indeed, sometimes we are made to feel like our work at home doesn’t count for much. Yet the hope always lies with the next generation – the generation that you are lovingly tending to.

You may not be marching the streets, or changing policy as you rock your baby to sleep, or lie on the floor and play blocks with them, or cuddle them through a tough teething phase, but the love you show in these early days goes a long way to raising compassionate and caring human beings.

As your children grow, you can teach your sons to stand beside the women in his life and uphold fair and equal treatment of his sisters. You can teach your daughters to speak out against unfair treatment or inequality. But more importantly, we can teach our children how to respect themselves and each other, we can show them what healthy boundaries are, and how to live compassionately.

These may seem like small things, but these small things are what will drive change. With each day,  each nappy changed, each bottle or breast feed given, each comfort cuddle, each act of love, cultivates a better world for everyone to live in. The next generation of men and women who are raised with love and respect as their guiding principles is what will make the biggest difference.

So as you tend to your child on International Women’s Day, know that you are actually making a monumental difference.

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