CANDICE MILLER
CO-FOUNDER, MAMA & TATA
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Shame on mom-shamers. Experienced their wrath? Share your story.
On IG everyone feels like they can say whatever they feel because nobody knows who they are. I find it cowardly when people mom shame online, I’d like to see them stand up and say it to my face! Everyone always has something to say, and sadly many thrive on the negative so any opportunity for failure, they are right there to call you out on it. I’ve had plenty of these experiences, none of which I’d give the satisfaction of repeating, because truly it never effects me. Haters gonna hate!
If any line of work needs inspo, it's motherhood. What type of mothers inspire you?
Every mother who wakes up every day to educate her children, work to provide or set an example for them, or by any circumstances, has to assume both mom’s and dad’s roles; deeply inspires me. It is no easy task to raise a child with love and care, whilst taking care of yourself. As opposed to popular belief, mothers come in every shape or form and there is no mold that fits us all. But it is the unconditional love for our children that we will always share. We may struggle and fail, but we will always stand by them cheering them on and supporting them no matter what. My mother is my ultimate role model, I cannot think of a more giving, positive and loving person than her.
Sometimes we're all BAD MUTHAs (as we should be). When did you go against traditional advice?
I don’t really take advice, I kind of use my best judgement, but there have been a few films I watched as a kid that I thought were “appropriate,” and then realized “Nope, this is definitely not okay!” When my kids went to school in kindergarten on the bus and told their friends they watch “dirty dancing” and “bad moms” all the time, it was a very cringe worthy moment, aka Mom Fail!
"I think dedicating a time of the day to us is of the essence. We need to recharge to wake up the next morning with energy to do it all over again."
Better worlds start with better moms. How can the motherhood community improve?
As a mother I feel we often forget that it is already exhausting pleasing our kids and very importantly OURSELVES, to also try and please our community. In reality a community should be about women who listen and support each other as we wish to be listened and supported. One of the reasons Mama and Tata was born is to create a line of support to those working moms out there that are doing the impossible to keep both their families and businesses going strong. We do the Mama-of-the-Moment feature to honor those mothers and remind us that all of them come in different shapes and forms. My girls are my everything, I love their sister to sister relationship and I love our mother-daughter that is not like anyone else’s and that is what makes us unique.
How do you like to MUTHA yourself and ensure you still have some 'me' time?
Normally I’d say I go out with friends, I work on my two businesses which I love and I do my Tracy Anderson’s workout with a team of amazing women every morning. As these are weird times and everything we used to do changed, I now have to play a hundred different roles. I am a personal chef, teacher, personal assistant (planning out their schedules for the day), physical educator, arts and crafts extraordinaire and entertainer (I’ve learned more ways of entertainment for kids than I ever knew existed!) and yet I still find a way to make some time for myself. Every afternoon I do my at-home Tracy Anderson workouts and after the girls are showered and dressed and we are about to have dinner soon, I have a glass of wine, reflecting on the little things that made us smile while watching the sunset. I think dedicating a time of the day to us is of the essence. We need to recharge to wake up the next morning with energy to do it all over again. After all, it’s groundhogs day!