Carolin Kebekus says the pressure to be a “perfect mother” does not match the reality of her parenting. In an interview with the German news agency dpa, the comedian described how her plans for raising her child have changed over time.
Kebekus said she avoided sugar for a year, but made an exception on her child’s first birthday, when they had salted caramel ice cream. Her almost three-year-old now also chews gum, something she acknowledged is not generally suitable for toddlers. She attributed this partly to life in a large blended family, where the child sees other children doing it.
Before becoming a parent, Kebekus had intended to explain everything patiently and never resort to white lies. Now, she joked, her parenting is based on “lies, blackmail and bribery.” She has told her child that the zoo is closed when asked to go, or that the character from the children’s programme “Die Sendung mit der Maus” is asleep or ill when the child wants to watch it. Kebekus said such explanations still work at this age, though she wonders how much longer they will.
She also recalled a family story about older parenting myths: her aunt and uncle used to tell her cousins that their video recorder only worked when it rained. The cousins were surprised during one visit to discover that it still worked in sunshine. Kebekus discussed the many ways mothers can feel they are falling short in an interview with Der Spiegel last year as well.
Sources: Der Spiegel.