Since becoming a mom, I often have the feeling that I’m under siege — and the only means of defense available to me is to never pick up a parenting-related magazine, turn off the news programs, and avoid groups of other over-informed mothers. The negative, alarmist-driven media is likely the greatest threat to parental peace-of-mind.

It’s unfair, really — and not terribly different from using headlights to hunt a deer. As mothers, we are completely vulnerable and defenseless when it comes to anything that might possibly threaten our offspring. This is a beautiful fact (of most) of the natural world. Our ancestral mothers may have used sticks or stones to chase away threatening animals or enemies that lurked in the darkness, and hopefully the menacing creature would go away.

Today, the monsters in the shadows are more elusive. But whether they take the form of a possible flu pandemic, environmental toxins, or child predators — these information-based demons produce in us the same fight-or-flight response that our foremothers experienced in ages past.

But we can’t just blame those people out there who keep yelling, “There’s a big, horrible, scary creature in the forest!” They’re simply trying to sell magazines or attract viewers. We’re the ones who keep running for the hills.

As humans, our brains are hardwired for fear. I think that motherhood must put this part of our physiology into overdrive. So how should we respond when we encounter a piece of information that appears to give us the option to either protect our little ones or throw them into harm’s way? Of course we’re going to panic!

That’s why I think that we need to just reduce our exposure to the astounding amount of fear-based messages that are being sent around out there. It’s good to be informed and to be aware. But it’s not good to live in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight when it comes to our children’s welfare.

As mothers, I propose that we take a vow to stop passing along so many alarmist news bulletins and start helping each other embrace and enjoy this precious time in our lives.

So the next time we catch ourselves on the brink of sharing immunization-scare stories with a new mom whose baby has just been immunized …. we should check ourselves. Instead, let’s tell her about all of those sweet, sloppy kisses that soon will be coming her way.

Some mothers are victims of over-obsessing, and others are not. I am the former. Any obsessive-compulsive tendencies that I had before kids increased exponentially the moment I brought those bundles of joy home. Anxiety and worry became almost second nature. 

But I was given some good advice once. Whenever you’re fretting about something, turn your attention to caring for others … and the self-induced anxiety just kind of goes away. As mothers, our worlds can become rather small sometimes. We are focused on our families, our jobs, and our closest friends. It’s not that we’re being selfish, it’s just that we can’t find the time to fit in anything or anybody else. But that’s one of the reasons why we’re so lopsided (from a balanced-life perspective). Getting involved in your community in some service-oriented way is a very healthy move.

Unfortunately, I’m just now figuring this out. I think that my worry resulted from a life that was just too inward. For every minute that I’ve spent working in some form of community-service, I’ve noticed that I’ve become remarkably less anxious. And I’m not trying to set the world on fire. Trust me. I’m just volunteering here and there to do things like set up tables for a Chicken Pie Supper at the community church. It took 20 minutes. But the personal rewards were huge. 

There are so many ways to get involved, and you don’t have to choose something that’s all that time consuming. Whether it’s visiting a retirement home or delivering meals for a program like Meals on Wheels, you and your kids will benefit more from the experience than the individuals you’re serving. 

So next time you’re standing in the checkout line at the grocery store worrying that you didn’t buy the $7/pound organic grapes (which makes you a horrible, unloving mother), just walk right on outside and help an elderly person or another mother with a wailing kid load their groceries in their car. I bet that you’ll forget all about the grapes.