Inspiring Mothers Meet at MomTalks

'MomTalks 2017,' held at Bahçeşehir University (BAU), brought together inspiring mothers from Türkiye.

The event, held at Bahçeşehir University South Campus, was attended by Ümmiye Koçak, who started life in a village in Türkiye and made headlines with the theater she founded where she lives and the commercial she starred in with famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo; Nil Karaibrahimgil, one of Türkiye's leading artists; social media's expert mothers Seride Samurkaş (Uyku Meleği), Ece Kumkale (Hassas Anne) and Elif Çakır (Güncel Anne); and many academics, including Prof. Dr. Yankı Yazgan, Doğan Cüceloğlu, Mümin Sekman and Özgür Bolat.

Speaking at the event, Ümmiye Koçak said that the concept of motherhood is special to her: "I say that if a person wants, they can become a director, a doctor, a businessperson, anything, but you cannot always become a mother just because you want to. I am a mother of 3 children and this title is enough for me; the rest is temporary, motherhood is permanent."

Nil Karaibrahimgil, one of Türkiye's leading artists, addressed common misconceptions about raising children. Karaibrahimgil said: "Children should not be given too many toys. Children should also get bored from time to time, because a bored child becomes more creative."

Dr. Özgür Bolat, founder of 'Parenting School,' who offered guidance on ways to raise happy and successful children, said: "Our main topic is happiness, and I divide it into two: success-oriented happiness and happiness-oriented success. In success-oriented happiness, the person feels worthless and chases success to cover up this feeling of worthlessness. I say this is not a good thing, because you cannot sustain it; you constantly feel the need to be successful, and this creates anxiety. I am talking about happiness-oriented success. It works like this: if a person says 'I am valuable because I am me' and accepts their child as they are, the child says 'I am valuable because I am me' and finds peace. When this child starts working to make an impact on other people's lives, success comes as a result."