When I pressed publish on my first blog post in March 2014 I would never have imagined the impact that a simple website documenting my daughter’s fussy eating would have on my life. Fast forward four years and My Fussy Eater has become my full time job. The blog is visited by over 250,000 people every month, I have a recipe app available in the App Store and my first cookbook being published this month.
Ciara Attwell
Blogging has given me a career, an income and the ability to work for myself at home around my children’s school hours and holidays. But aside from the financial benefit, blogging has helped me navigate the ups and downs of motherhood and connect with like-minded parents who I may never have had the opportunity to meet in real life.
We are warned on an almost daily basis about the potential negative impact of social media. There is no doubt that we need to exercise a certain amount of caution when it comes to the online world but for me I have reaped the benefits of both sharing and seeking advice in this new digital space.
Motherhood, particularly for first time mothers, can be lonely and isolating. Despite the baby groups and health visitor appointments you spend a considerable amount of time at home alone, looking after a tiny human that doesn’t come with an instruction manual! When my daughter was born in 2011 I turned to online forums; seeking advice and learning from others as they shared their motherhood highs and lows. Second time round with my son I had more confidence and more experience but I still sought reassurance from the online world, this time from blogs and social media. I asked my online community for help with feeding, sleeping, teething and in return I shared lots of his favourite weaning recipes.
Later when I became worried that my son’s behaviour was more than just the terrible two’s I got some of the best advice I could have received at the time, all from online acquaintances. The next year was difficult for us as a family as we awaited an autism assessment. Family and friends were brilliant but no one really understood what we were going through, except of course those “online strangers”, there again to offer advice and support as we navigated the difficult and complicated assessment process.
A year on and we’re all doing great but I still regularly share and seek advice online. I talk about autism on my blog and the effect it can have on feeding issues. I share snippets of my parenting life on social media, both the good and the bad. Behind the glossy exterior of blogs and social media accounts there are real parents going through real problems. We are often accused of “over sharing” but it is through this sharing that we can open up more discussions on the more difficult aspects of parenting, meaning that no one ever feels like they are going through something alone.
My Fussy Eater by Ciara Attwell out 19th April RRP £14.99 Lagom (Bonnier Publishing)