I went to bed last night and my mind was racing.  It happens to us all sometimes, when our bodies are exhausted, but our minds won’t rest. Usually this happens because I’m worried about my kids, or dwelling on parenting mistakes I made that day, or I’m mulling over the endless todo lists of paid and unpaid work I need to do the following day. 

But last night, it was Greta Thunberg who kept me lying awake. She’s the Swedish, teenage, climate change warrior who has dropped out of school to do everything she can to save our planet before it’s too late.

It likely should be the crisis that our planet is in that caused me to lose sleep, but it wasn’t.  Her message has moved me as it’s moved millions around the world to take action these past few weeks; however, what’s kept me up at night is how she’s being bullied and belittled by several powerful conservative men, who are threatened by her.

Michael Knowles went on Fox News recently and referred to Greta, who has Asperger’s syndrome, as “a mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left.”

“I can’t tell if Greta needs a spanking or a psychological intervention,” tweeted Breitbart columnist John Nolte.

Even Donald Trump couldn’t refrain from mocking her on twitter by saying “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!”

The list goes on and on. She’s a child who is standing up for what she thinks is right. And although the majority are in admiration and support of what she’s done and continues to do despite the haters, there are many who view her just as the above men do.

I laid awake last night wondering what I can do about this. What can we, as mothers, as a society, do about this? We can’t help the fact that old, misogynistic men still today weasel their way into positions of power—in charge of the news we consume, the businesses we depend on and the countries we live in.

My instinct is to protect the Gretas of the world from these type of people, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that protecting them will only cause more silence and inaction.

I think our job as mothers is not to protect our kids from these types of ‘leaders’, but to encourage our children to challenge these men. Challenge them over and over again—Just like Greta Thunberg is doing today.

Greta has responded to her haters in a calm, rational and mature way—like the way an adult would be expected to. “I honestly don’t understand why adults would choose to spend their time mocking and threatening teenagers and children for promoting science, when they could be do something good instead.  I guess they must simply feel so threatened by us.”

We’ve watched Greta’s youtube videos with our three girls, who are all in elementary school. My hope is that by seeing her, they will be able to go through life feeling confident and empowered to wear their braids, dress comfortably and carry whatever facial expression shows how they’re feeling inside.  More importantly, I want them to know they are smart and big enough to challenge a policy, idea or statement they feel is wrong.

Greta Thunberg is a powerfully intelligent, focused and passionate young woman who has moved the world.  These type of leaders and change-makers don’t come along often in the history of this planet.  As mothers, let’s lift her up higher when the trumps and Knowles of the world try to bring her down. 

Here’s to more future Greta Thunbergs!

 

 

 

Click HERE to read more from Natasha!

---

My name is Natasha Ashfield and I am one of those insane moms who had three babies in three years (and no twins)! I grew up in Hampton, N.B., but I’ve made a second home for myself in Fredericton with my husband and three girls who are now six, five and three.  My husband and I both work fulltime and enjoy our jobs, but we live by the ‘work to play’ motto. We will probably never be a wealthy family, but we’re rich with many of the things money can’t buy. As all moms know, motherhood is not all sunshine and roses though. Life has certainly been a rollercoaster since I’ve become a mama, but there’s been more ups than downs and I look forward to sharing some of those experiences with you and hearing about other parents’ experiences.  We’re undertaking the hardest, most important job we’ll ever have, so having a network of others to share information with, vent to, laugh with and learn from makes the rollercoaster that much more exciting.

Likes: weekends, This Is Us, my minivan

Dislikes: long lines, itchy clothing, Donald Trump

 

You might also like…