Online Lives: Parenting blogger Grainne Owens

Dublin-born mum-of-two Grainne Owens blogs about parenting from her home in Northern Ireland.

Formerly a librarian and teacher, Grainne says she shares the “finished version” of her life on fredtedandcompany.com.

“My blog is my online home, where I post the ‘finished version’ of my life. I use Instagram to share the ‘work in progress’ version of parenting,” Grainne says.

“Instagram gets a bad wrap. People think it’s fake or full of influencers with bum implants and bought followers, but I find it to be the most real of all the platforms.

“On Insta, it’s very easy to find like-minded people. I’ve made some really good friends, who experience parenting just the way I do. It’s been really helpful.”

Grainne shares insights into Montessori education as a parenting style.

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“Most of my posts are about how to adapt the Montessori method of education into a style of parenting to help you raise confident, capable, and creative children.

“I think my generation of parents are keen to parent intentionally.

"The world is changing so fast and we’re seeing that the ‘one size fits all’ parenting and school system we were raised with is starting to be inadequate.

"We want to parent intentionally and responsively, with our children’s unique best interest at heart. For me, the answer lay in Montessori.”

She describes her blog as a method to keep herself accountable. “Only a tiny portion of what I do makes it to the blog, but it’s become the voice of my conscience, saying ‘come on now, is that the kind of parent you want to be?’

"It keeps me focused on the best version of myself.”

Her blog is a way for Grainne to understand herself and herself as a mother.

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“Parenting is definitely a journey and the blog has been a great way to process it. I’ve met some amazing educators and parents through it and been so inspired by them.

"Parenting and blogging are two things I’ve surprised myself by being good at and they’ve given me a new perspective on myself.”

Balancing public and private lives can be a problem for many parenting bloggers.

I rarely post my children’s faces online. They haven’t asked to be a part of the blog and I’m very conscious of not using their childhood as content.

“I also find there’s an expectation on parenting bloggers to be honest about their struggles, but there’s a line between an unrealistic, rose-tinted version of your life and exposing your deepest psychological make-up.

"I’m not comfortable posting or reading those really private moments on a scrolling space like Instagram,” Grainne says.