The 5 Types of Moms to Unfriend on Facebook

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Since Yahoo Parenting launched on Oct. 23, the editors and writers have posted nearly 600 stories on the site. They chose this article – originally published on Nov. 17 – as a highlight of the pieces that offer trusted advice, inspire provocative conversations, and hopefully add a little fun to your life, every day.”  

If you’re like most people, your Facebook feed is comprised of several types of mom “friends”: The true-blue kind (who you actually see in real life), coworkers, parents in your playgroup, and a mix of old classmates and strangers. You undoubtedly want to unfriend some of these feed-cloggers, but you haven’t, because you’ve felt guilty. Well now’s your chance to get over that, thanks to National Unfriend Day, an unofficial holiday created by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. In a YouTube video, the comedian implored viewers to purge their feeds of people who “won’t shut up” about their kid, how they slept last night, and which “Frozen” character they are. And it’s not enough to unfollow these people — it’s time to cut the cord. Yes, it’s awkward, but you can do it! Here are five types of moms to consider unfriending immediately.

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The Mom Martyr: She’s the ultimate humble bragger. “Headed to back-to-back practice games!” “Got to work early, sleep-training be damned!” and “Volunteered to chaperone the school trip  — what was I thinking??” are just a few examples of the woe-is-me rants the Mom Martyr is known to post. This self-sacrificer isn’t actually trying to scale back on her impossibly busy life; she just needs (lots of) validation that she’s doing motherhood “right.”

The Power Parent: She hits a 7 a.m. Soul Cycle class, nails her Power Point presentation, then dashes home to make dinner for four (with the Lo-Fi–filtered images to prove it.) Her carefully-curated life looks like a stock photo with adorably sun-kissed children and a gorgeous, successful partner. You secretly hate this GOOP-y mom for making you feel inadequate, but enjoy scouring her timeline too much to unfriend — until now, that is.

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The Mom Bragger: Her newborn sleeps through the night, her toddler got accepted into a top preschool, and her teen is Princeton-bound. But it’s not enough to celebrate these accomplishments with her family: This mom needs a public pat on the back because, without it, she secretly wonders if such things matter at all.

The Mommy-Mom: You know this one is a mom because her entire identity is wrapped up in her children. Look! There’s a time-lapsed video of her pregnancy! A play-by-play of her morning sickness! And daily photos of her “LO.” You’ll never read commentary about the news or see photos of girls’ night out on her page because she’s practically running a mommy blog from her Facebook account. So unless you’re Dr. Sears, defriend immediately.

The TMI Parent: Be it a play-by-play of her kid’s ear infection, updates on potty-training, or the latest teacher offense, this mom is constantly outsourcing the details of her life. You’ll often hear these women say, “Facebook is an easy way to update everyone in my life at once.” That’s fine, as long as your entire friend list contains solely loved ones who are invested in your life — not Carl your coworker from four jobs ago, who now knows where your kids go to school and what time you leave for work in the morning. Creepy.

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