The television personality got candid on social media and expressed how she was grateful to be breaking a generational parenting cycle that had traumatized her and caused her pain. No, she isn't going to do that to her children because they deserve so much better.
Jamie Otis took to Instagram Monday and posted a video of her and her husband, Doug Hehner, sharing their choices in parenting and raising their kids.
But more than the video, Otis' caption was more surprising as she vulnerably narrated how her grandmother left her mom with a babysitter and did not go back for years and how her mother did this to her as well, leaving her with the neighbor, a friend and an ex-boyfriend. She further wrote that when she became a teenager, her mother decided to leave again and left her alone to take care of her younger siblings.
"No matter how hectic and chaotic my kids are, I will ALWAYS come back for them. Their 'mess' is always more enjoyable than any pristine vacation anywhere. I'm so proud to break that awful generational cycle," the founder of Become Body Positive expressed.
The couple, who met in the reality TV show "Married at First Sight," share two children - Henley, 5, and Hendrix, 2.
Sending co-mamas 'some love'
Otis didn't end her caption there as she went on and gave a shout-out and "some love" to all mamas who stayed with their children even if it wasn't easy.
Her followers praised her for staying true to herself and making sure that this character of hers is reflected in her parenting, Yahoo News reported.
One of her fans sympathized and expressed that she was sorry that she had to go through that. She also said that her husband and kids are lucky to have the "best mom."
Another follower appreciated how she was so open about her childhood issues and told her that she was a great mom for once and for all, breaking the "toxic cycle" and protecting her kids from things that have possibly caused her trauma in her childhood.
One also commented how she was the "best role model" for her children.
Another generational parenting cycle broken
It seems that Otis is serious about breaking generational cycles that have caused her to be confused before and have challenged her mental health.
Also, in an Instagram post last September, Otis shared a video of her and her daughter in the pool, and though the video was lighthearted, the caption was quite serious and crucial in every way.
She tackled the issue of how mothers can help their daughters grow confident so they don't have to call themselves fat, ugly or worthless.
She encouraged mothers to be aware of how they talk about their bodies in front of their daughters because it would matter, according to Mom.com.
In her Instagram post, she narrated how her mother asked before if she looked fat, and unconsciously, Otis was also asking herself if she was fat. She said that her mom did not realize it, but how she talked to her about herself and treated herself in front of her led her to an eating disorder and consuming dangerous amounts of weight loss pills and laxatives.
Otis continued that she feels like her parents' generation and the generation before theirs were brainwashed into believing that skinny is the way to go. A woman can only be beautiful when she is skinny.
She then declared that it was her goal to break this cycle and change that narrative for herself and her daughters. She would be "devastated" if her daughter, like her in the past, grew up taking weight loss pills and doing unsafe diets so that she could be beautiful in other people's eyes.
Related Article: The Differences Between Eastern and Western Parenting
