Last week I spent a lot of time Googling. Even if you’re not an internet user, you’ve probably heard of Google. Google is an internet search engine; it’s kind of like going to the library and looking in their card catalog (now also on computers) for a book you need on a specific topic. But what makes Google easier is you don’t have to get the whole book, you can just find the exact topic you’re looking for, instantly.
I had a couple issues last week that I needed directions/advice to solve. One was computer-related the other was household related: my bathroom sink was clogged, which is weird because my husband and I have short hair and our daughters don’t do their hair in our bathroom. Anyway, I digress.
For the computer issue, I found exactly what I needed right on top (the computer sorts its findings according to what it perceives as relevance to your problem – I write with the utmost sarcasm, because the question is often misunderstood). I followed the excellent instructions and fixed the issue.
For the sink issue, I had to read several of the sites that popped up. They were all basically the same, but the directions spanned from really easy to extremely complicated. I took a little advice from one and a little advice from another, stood up from my computer chair and fixed the problem in a couple minutes.
Having the internet at my fingertips is new technology since I became a mother. I wonder if my life would have been easier if I had had Google when my children were small? My children didn’t come with instruction manuals, which I think is an unfair advantage for the children, but Google is almost like an instruction manual:
“What’s the best diaper out there?”
“Is it still okay to use bag balm on babies?”
“How can I get my daughter to let me wash her hair?”
“Why won’t my first grader finish her math quiz at school?”
“How can I keep my kids from fighting?”
“How can I get my picky eater to eat?”
“Why do kids feel the need to scream?”
What a help it would have been to have had Google at my disposal. And it’s not so much that I did a bad job, my daughters are teens now and pretty great ones, if I do say so myself. So I obviously figured things out. The book “What to expect the first year” was my bible, followed by “What to expect in the toddler years.” But they never answered all my questions.
Maybe being able to Google wouldn’t have given me all the answers, but I would’ve found other parents out there with the same issues. One thing I have learned as a parent is no issue is unique to anyone.
But there is the opposite problem with Google: sometimes you find perfect people who know how to do everything, making you feel like a failure. Or like the sink issues, the solutions range from easy to complicated. But that’s a sink – if you mess up a sink you can always fix it, but if you mess up your children due to misguided advice, it’s not as easy to fix.
I have to admit, I spent a lot of my children’s toddler years feeling like I was doing everything wrong and feeling intimidated when I met moms who seemed “super.” Now that I am older and my kids are older and turned out fine, I see that comparisons to moms who seem “super” should be avoided.
But if nothing else, Google gives you options. So like flipping a coin when making a decision often makes you realize what you wanted to do in the first place, Google advice often leads you to do what you know is the right choice for you and your child.
And if all this confuses you, you can always Google it.
Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. She is fascinated that Google is now a verb. You can also read more of her writing and her daily blog on her website livingwithgleigh.com or on Facebook at “Living with Gleigh.” Her column is available every week at maplevalleyreporter.com under the Lifestyles section.
