Article by Fabafterfifty
Two thirds of mums claim that rather than feeling more special and appreciated on Mother’s Day, they feel the same as on any other day of the year.
A new study shows that despite Mother’s Day being a day to celebrate mum, she’ll still be expected to do the lion’s share of the chores.
Seven in ten mums WON’T get to put their feet up this Mother’s Day, it was revealed yesterday.
Although 52 per cent of women wish for as much effort from their partner as their children this Sunday, they look set to be disappointed.
Six in 10 mums will still be the first parent up with the children in the morning – lucky if they manage to lie in bed past 7:30am.
Last year, the average mum was treated to an hour and a half of pampering before the whole family tired of their efforts.
This meant after being spoiled with breakfast, gifts and a nice cup of tea, mum then rose to contend with looking after her family in the usual way.
“Actually mums don’t expect an awful lot from Mothers’ Day.
“It’s not all about expensive gifts, a mountain of lavish treats and being whisked off here there and everywhere for posh lunches and spa treatments.
“What mums really appreciate is a little help with the day to day chores, and a bit of a break from the normal routine.
“So a lie in, flowers and toast on a tray, and more help around the house this weekend would mean huge brownie points for partner and kids.”
Do partners impress on Mother’s Day?
The survey shows last year, more than half of men DID make more of an effort to impress on Mothering Sunday, with 43 per cent making regular cups of tea during the day.
A fifth did the vacuuming, one in 10 men even did the laundry – doing everything from loading the machine to hanging the wet clothes up.
But 45 per cent of mums then went on to cook the family lunch, while 53 per cent took their usual charge of the evening meal.
In fact, most mums estimate they spent just under two and a half hours tidying, packing the school bags, doing the laundry and making the beds last Mother’s Day.
When it comes to receiving gifts, 43 per cent of mums were given chocolate last year, and 40 per cent woke up to flowers.
“Mother’s Day is all about putting a smile on mum’s face – and it’s not just down to the kids to make that happen. This is an opportunity for men to really raise their game making those little gestures of appreciation and it’s a chance for other family members to make an extra effort to make mums feel extra special, too.
Paul Hensby
Mother’s Day is no more than the horticultural trade’s successful attempt to sell more flowers at a time when there’s normally a surplus. And of course the rest of the retail business has caught on, appealing to our apparent wish to give mothers an extra nice time one Sunday in spring.
As the Coop Food survey points out, our behaviour towards our mums doesn’t seem to have changed that much, though I don’t give much credence to surveys by the Coop (or any other marketing organisation)whose PR agencies say to them: ‘Let’s do a survey to get extra column inches’.
I think every day should be mother’s day, cos mums are so special.