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YM Blog Contest Results!

August 20th, 2010 . Posted in blogging/internet, freebies, Links on YM | 4 Comments »
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Our summertime days have just flown on by and I have enjoyed seeing all the wonderful blog posts that have been added here to the YM Blogs. It is so fabulous to have so many different mommies contributing and adding their voices – we get to hear such a great cross-section of young moms, who have lots in common but also lots that is different from each other.

Our YM Blog Contest wraps up today and I’m just thrilled to be announcing our two winners today, so I’ll get right to that now! 😉

Our runner-up prize, selected based on the young mom who posted the *most* (in blog posts and comments combined) is… Kayla! she is a young mommy of 2 from Atlantic Canada. Kayla, I can’t wait to send you the Summer Fun Pack I put together as a prize – I’m sure you and your two munchkins can still get some enjoyment out of it for the rest of our warmer days.

Every comment and blog post was also one entry that counted towards the *random*draw for the big prize, so in total we had 29 entries! The number that was randomly generated for us was #2, so in my list that I had made of blog posts and comments, that number points right at our 2nd blog post… hmmm, who was that who posted the 2nd blog post??

ymcontest_randomdraw

So the winner of our book giveaway – who will get a brand new copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting is…

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The Fight Against Fakers

July 31st, 2009 . Posted in blogging/internet, by Kris, food for thought, Links on YM, teen pregnancy & parenting | No Comments »
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Have you heard about the person who faked her baby’s death?!

Here’s an article on the topic… I was sad and upset to hear about it, but unfortunately, not terribly surprised!

Over my past 10 years running communities and groups online, I’ve seen more fakers and lurkers and weirdos out there than I care to remember!!

We do get to enjoy meeting new friends and forge some wonderfully close relationships with our online mommy crew, but the darker side of the internet is waiting as well.

In the Young Single Mommies Community, we occasionally had a male member try to join to hit on some of the single women in the group. One time in the YM Community, we had a young women join and we found the link to her blog. It talked about soccer and her social life and everything except the pregnancy she was telling us all about (and included pictures of a slim young woman… hmmm, I find it hard to believe you are 7 months pregnant?!).

In the YM Boards, we have had more than our share of fakers, including one young woman who stole photos of her sister and nephew and assumed their identity. She tried to defend her lying because she had been pregnant herself but had lost the baby. While this is a sad situation, it still doesn’t excuse convincing a few dozen women that you are a real mom of a baby and wasting our time with questions and stories that turn out to be lies.

No wonder we’ve developed so much security and rules to try to protect those of us who *are* real mothers and are just trying to find support and advice. For example, on the YM Boards, we now post “Salutes” (pictures of us and our children that include proof of the date) to gain access to more personal forums and member photos.

What motivates young women to pretend to be teen moms? Is it a perception that it is “cool” to be a pregnant teen? Is it a way for girls to try out the experience of being 16 and pregnant without having to actually go through the reality of it all?

What do you think??