This viral “Mom Slop” video shows what’s wrong with parenting today

A viral cooking video is sparking conversations about the pressures of motherhood in the age of social media.

Under the name The Polish Mom, Maja Barnes often shares videos of her three toddlers cooking on TikTok and Instagram. But one particular post about a crockpot sausage and chicken noodle dinner has taken on a life of its own, garnering more than 17 million views as well as a slew of negative comments about Barnes’ cooking skills, the dish’s nutritional value, her appearance, etc.

According to an X user posted the video along with the headline “This next generation of mothers is doomed…” many commentators jumped in her defense.

Writer and working mother Marlo Slaybeck tweeted“It’s called ‘mom slop’ – it’s the backbone of every civilization’s greatest culinary achievements.”

She added that her Instant Pot dishes connect her with “generations upon generations of women who hastily mixed together ingredients” to feed their families, pointing to dishes from cultures around the world that fall into the “Mom Slop” could fit.

“Although some may think that ‘Mom Slop’ sounds completely unappetizing, I think for so many people it evokes an age-old memory of meals that mothers prepared in a hurry, but with an almost scientific mastery of what ingredients they used “It will taste good and satisfy the appetites of several people,” Slaybeck told HuffPost. “My parents are Syrian, so I immediately thought of the comfort meals my mother used to prepare like a plain ‘maqloob’ or ‘mjadara’ without the crispy fried onions because I didn’t have enough time to add that embellishment.”

She recalled how her mother would sometimes “deconstruct” an iconic Levantine dish and cook it in a slow cooker, which wasn’t as visually appealing but was still tasty and filling.

“It may be a crude way to describe these meals, but I think Mom Slop also captures it in an endearing and unpretentious way,” Slaybeck added, noting that many mothers responded positively to her tweet by said the term helped remove the stress of cooking, reducing it and making it feel more accessible and intuitive.

Barnes, on the other hand, simply wants to share realistic and humorous videos about her life as a mother of two-year-old twins and a three-year-old child.

“I learned to be creative with the ingredients I have on hand,” she told HuffPost. “When I was a child, my parents didn’t have much money, so everything in the house had to be used up before you could buy new food. I used to be in the army and learned how to make meals on a budget. You can find lots of easy meal ideas on my site.”

When faced with negativity — like the commenters who criticize her for getting her hair, nails, and makeup done as a busy mom on a budget — she tends to turn to humor and satire. Her videos often have cheeky titles like “Dinner for my kids and husband when I need $ for my new nails” and “Lunch for my three kids as a lazy SAHM learning to cook.”

“I think it’s crazy that people can belittle others just because they’re trying to cook a meal,” Barnes added.

With the rise of “tradwife” content on social media in recent years, it seems as if people are more encouraged to criticize wives and mothers who don’t live up to these impossible standards. Even those who are not open to outside judgment can place ridiculous expectations on themselves.

“I think the pressure is increasing on everyone to live a perfect life that can be effortlessly captured for social media,” Slaybeck said. “I view the influencer tradwife trend primarily as something meant to be consumed rather than imitated because it is obviously unrealistic for most mothers and families.”

In reality, most parents don’t have the resources or bandwidth to prepare elaborate meals in the style of influencers like Hannah Neeleman and Nara Smith. Even though she shares household duties with her husband, Slaybeck noted that the demands of full-time work and parenthood require a more pragmatic approach to mealtime.

“I used to be a food snob and cook elaborate meals and French pastries, and when I became a mother I accepted that I had to change,” Slaybeck said.

“Before I became a busy mom, I had high expectations of myself and wanted to do everything from scratch, but I quickly realized that wasn’t feasible,” Barnes reiterated. “I would rather spend time with my children than spend most of my day in the kitchen. I’ll make some homemade bread, but I’ll also add some frozen chicken nuggets for lunch, and that’s totally fine.”

Dinners that aren’t perfect could actually play an important role in child development.

She was also struck by criticism of the nutritional value of Barnes’ family meals.

“I have been working with families in a variety of ways for 30 years, including families with special needs,” Geering said. “I want to tell the world that there is no such thing as a ‘perfectly nutritious’ meal that fits all.”

She emphasized that real professionals are better suited to help individual families figure out what is best for their children’s individual nutritional needs, whether they are unable to metabolize certain nutrients, have food allergies, need to gain weight, etc.

“There is no way you can look at a particular meal and conclude that it doesn’t meet a child’s nutritional needs because (A) each child’s needs are truly unique and (B) nutritional needs are based on what they eat overall “, and not on what they eat at a particular meal,” Geering said.

Slaybeck said the meal was very relatable for busy parents trying to get dinner on the table.

“Also, the type of ingredients she used – from shelf-stable foods that are easy to grab from the pantry to a mix of proteins and cheese – these are the basic units of what I envision as a quick and satisfying dinner “I imagine my mother works full time,” she noted.

The day Barnes made the crockpot pasta dinner was particularly hectic.

“I had so much to do,” she remembers. “Did I add a vegetable? No. And that’s okay – I offered them fruits and vegetables throughout the day.”

“Please let’s stop this sad trend of judging other mothers,” she added. “Many small children are very picky and don’t touch many things. I was very picky myself. Kindness costs nothing!”

Although Barnes enjoys creating satirical content where she pokes fun at the negative comments she receives, she also focuses on the positive reactions from other moms, which inspire her to continue sharing her cooking videos.

“I never thought anyone would read my content and comments like ‘I tried your rice recipe and it changed my life!’ would like to see. Make my day!” she said.

Despite the criticism, there was also something positive about Barnes’ viral moment. Slaybeck received many touching responses to her “Mom Slop” defense.

“So many people responded to my post and mentioned that they would call their mom and tell her they love her or that they still have a craving for a meal that mom made on a weekday by random “Gathered ingredients from the fridge and pantry and it somehow turned out delicious,” she said.

Geering believes the outpouring of support for Barnes points to a broader uplift movement in the parenting space.

“Many people are coming to this mother’s defense and putting down her hateful and rude comments. This says a lot about society because even if we are mostly anonymous, many of us will say something to counter the hate. There has been a lot of support for a working mother and that is heartwarming to me.”