Moms and Media · May 5, 2015

(Un)happy Mother’s Day!

By Nbeniamini

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mothers out there! It’s that time of the year again, when the weather gets warmer, the flowers start blooming, and the sappy Mother’s Day commercials start playing. Every year, we are reminded to express our love and gratitude to the woman, or women, who made us the people we are today – Moms. But are the phone calls and the cards and the flowers and the brunches really what mom wants? Are mothers celebrating their special day the way they want to? According to The Research Moms 2015 study, an online survey of mothers with children age 21 and under, not really.

When asked how they would best describe their typical Mother’s Day experience, only 48% of mothers said they get to choose how to spend the day. The majority of moms, on the other hand, admitted that their day isn’t really about them at all. This comes as a bit of a disappointment, given the estimated $19.9 billion spent on Mother’s Day, according to a 2014 Mother’s Day spending survey conducted by the National Retail Federation.

 

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This data should make us pause and think about mothers and what they do. Whether they are new moms or experienced moms, stay at home moms or working moms, they are the glue that holds the family together. Any mom will tell you that motherhood is all day, every day. There are no lunch breaks, weekends, sick days, or vacations from this job. Being a mom means always putting the family first.

So while there are certainly lots of mothers who want to spend the day with their family, there are others who would love to do the things they sacrifice the rest of the year, whether it’s a hobby, a trip, a book, or even sleep! Maybe the best way to honor mothers is to give them a day off from their very important but consuming job and let them do whatever makes them happy.

So before giving mom that heart-shaped necklace or going to brunch this year, try asking her the simple question of, “How do YOU really want to spend Mother’s Day?” You just might be surprised at the answer!

 

How the study was conducted:

The Research Moms conducted a national online survey of 540 mothers with children age 21 and under in February 2015. For more on The Research Moms, click here.

 

 

 

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