Serena Williams Has THE Best Response Ever to Her Mommy Shamers
Tennis star Serena Williams says her 18-month-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., "loves being crazy and wild," these days.
When asked about how she handles all the mommy shaming and criticism, Serena had the best response.
Serena Williams has an active daughter, just like you'd expect. Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., who's 18 months old, is always on the move.
"She loves to dance," she says. "It’s her favorite thing. It’s my favorite thing to watch, too. She loves running. She’s experimenting with sprinting, I like to say. She loves being crazy and wild."
It's that last word - wild - that can sometimes come with a sigh or a loaded look from other parents. "I think ‘wild’ has a negative connotation," Williams says. "But I don't think it should be a bad word in terms of babies. It should be more like curious, exploring, or excited. Babies are so innocent. Everything they’re learning is brand new. I'd like to change the perception of the world ‘wild’ into something more positive."
According to a study of more than 1,000 parents by Wakefield Research for Pampers, 75% of moms and dads believe that calling a kid "wild" is a bad thing, and 84% wish they could let their child explore the world more freely without being judged.
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Feb 27, 2019 at 6:00am PST
For Williams, though, shaking off judgement is something she's grown accustomed to. "Everyone has a critique nowadays," she says. "I’ve been getting critiqued my whole life. At the end of the day, everyone can have an opinion. I’m not going to tear down someone’s opinion. But I try to personally have positive opinions."
Still, with a toddler that spirited, it's hard not to worry, judgements or no. But Williams tries hard to give Olympia as much leeway as possible. "I don’t hover," she says "I’m more of a hawk-watcher. I think it’s a good thing, and I’m happy that there are parents who are the same way, too."
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Nov 21, 2018 at 7:24am PST
And, at the end of the day, Williams wouldn't want her daughter to be any other way. To that end, she's teaming up with Pampers Cruisers 360 FIT for a campaign to celebrate all the "wild" children out there.
"She's so active that her diaper moves," Williams says. "Once, she was sitting on my lap after a day of running around, and I realized my clothes were wet. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s peeing on me!’ And I was totally okay with it, but I don’t have that problem anymore."
The tab-less Pampers have a stretchy waistband that goes all the way around a toddler's body - "just like wearing yoga pants," the company says in a press release - which they say is better for little movers.
"Like the other Pampers styles, the Cruisers 360 FIT was absorbent in our tests and held onto fluid in its core - even when we applied a weight to the surface," says Lexie Sachs, Associate Director, Textiles, Paper and Plastics Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. "We also love how well it fits around the waist, so it can keep up with active babies and toddlers that are constantly moving around."
Now the big question: Who changes more diapers, Williams or her husband, Reddit co-founder and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian?
"In the beginning, my husband changed all the diapers because I wasn’t able to do much moving," she says. "Now it’s definitely more 50/50, But I actually like doing it. [This stage] doesn’t last long. You can’t have it forever. It’s a great moment to enjoy, because soon it won’t be there."
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