Parenting Solved

When Patients See You at the Gym

Today a patient’s mother reported that she had seen me at the gym.  Apparently she and her husband had seen me working out and briefly debated whether I was the doctor in question.  I was able to confirm that I in fact had been at the Y over the weekend, sans khakis.

It’s a strange feeling to know you’ve been seen, especially when you didn’t know you were being seen at the time.

And I often run into mothers in the grocery store.  For some reason they always look into my cart.  Looking in someone’s grocery cart is an intimate act, I think.  Especially when you dole out nutritional advice for a living.

There are parents who have picked me up on Twitter.  Microblogging is another place where I disclose parts of myself not seen in the clinic.  For better or worse.

The gym, grocery store and Twitter are personal spaces.  But as long as my patients don’t mind seeing me speak my mind in my Underarmour with a 5 o’clock shadow and a package of Mallowmars in my cart, I’m good.

I guess this is what the social media experts call transparency.

Are You Tuning Your Kids Out?

A mom I follow on Twitter noted last night that her daughter has requested a media-free period between 5-10 pm.  No phones, no laptop, no TV and no electronics.  Charming in its simplicity but it has to make you think:  Are parents too connected and can our children sense it?

True confessions:  I tune my family out more than I should.  It’s wrong but I do.  While I love my kids and the time I spend with them, I also enjoy the hangin’ at the Twitter water cooler or seeing what my favorite bloggers are posting.  So compelling.

So what to do?

It’s pretty clear, actually.  As a dad I have to set a good example for my kids and that includes separating my Twitter/Blog time from my family time.  Like so many things involving personal change, it’s nothing more than raw discipline and the firm decision to do what’s right.

If it’s not too late for resolutions, I plan to work on the following:

• Avoid my laptop between dinner and bedtime
• Avoid using my iPhone when out and about with my family except for important calls
• Never passively dismiss my kids for online activities

I really want my kids to a life that goes beyond online social networks and that can only begin with truly living that life myself.  I’ve got some work to do.  How about you?

Tip to @holly_t for the inspiration

Motrin Feels Twitter's Pain

An ad for the popular pain reliever Motrin has created a Twitter-style tempest among mommy and daddy microbloggers who find the ad patronizing and disrespectful.  The ad from McNeil Consumer Healthcare and their agency (Taxi NYC) starts off by saying that while babywearing is fashionable right now, moms who wear their babies cry more than those who don’t.  It also suggests that women wear their babies because it “makes them look like an official mom.”  If I were a gamblin’ man I’d bet this copy was written by a room full of men after a few beers.

The most remarkable thing to watch has been less the reaction and more the medium by which the reaction traveled among moms and dads.  It’s the Twitter effect and a clear example of the power of microblogging (You can follow the Twitter feed here.)  As important as anything else was the fact that it took close to a day for Motrin to identify the gaffe and react.

While I expect to see this cautionary tale carried on for days to come in the MSM, the lesson for companies such as McNeil Consumer Healthcare is the importance of a defined and actionable social media strategy, especially surrounding provocative ad campaigns.

The ad has been pulled but you can find bits of it here at Small Dots - look at the bottom of the post.  

Here are a couple of good links.

The Real Problem with the Motrin Ads by Peter Shankman

Motrin's Twitter Moment by Pistachio

Whisper to a Scream by WOM MOM

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