Friday, May 09, 2008; Posted: 12:44 AM
The concept of Mother's Day was inspired by a woman named Julia Ward Howe during the era following the American civil war. Pretty much ever since, the day has been designated to honouring mothers for their endless passion to pacify and cushion the lives of their progeny.
Every mother out there, who is a little more than a tad thrilled to boast being a mom, shares a set of unique traits. Moms are ingrained with attributes that in many ways are indefinable. Yet it is these traits that they share with us that often serve the sole source of our sanity in the riffraff of life, as we step into the not so simplistic realm of reality as adults. Moms as such, play an incomparably important role in our lives. Their grace and passionate demeanour creates an unshakable bond with their offspring; one which, is built on the kind of strength that leads one to protect the other and vice versa.
Often it seems, their direct influences are reaped rather indirectly, as every step of the way our moms are omnipresent in the ways they've taught us to love and respect. They've taught us invaluable life lessons of survival and even the pedantic contents of skills and tools paving knowledge in every sphere.
With such vast influences in mind, there's a lot to account for in terms of their uniquely different approaches as parents. Their goals are universal in wanting the best for their offspring, though the parenting styles differ. So here's a look at a few such styles of 'mothering' ways.
Stern Captain of the Ship
The very strict military mom, who lives, simply thrives on an iron clad schedule of when to eat, sleep, study, or hangout. There are no 'why' 'but' or 'because' when it comes to the mom wearing the 'badge' of rigid discipline. There is no such thing as an 'excuse' as far as these moms are concerned. For the most part, though schedules may be tackled head-on and deadlines, homework, reports might be done immaculately without a glitch, there seems to be no room for 'human' errors here.
Like fish to water military moms live on order, in such scenarios shirts are always pristine white, shoes glisten two miles off and everyone is hounded by time and routine followed to perfection.
While things might always get done, in such ways of living and erroneous ways may be 'seemingly' next to nil, there is one flaw - families aren't boot-camps, thus when they are treated as such, sometimes the biggest error of all, which is lack of interaction between moms and their progeny pops up and hinders all. Thus when kids don't get to really know their mom and the reverse, there's more fear, tension and even duplicity than honesty, trust, ease of growth and true respect over mere pretences.
Smothering Blanket of 'Caution'
It's no easy task being a mom, (ask any mom and she'll agree), as such some moms are tempted to adhere marsupial behaviour in wanting to lug around their brood in a 'pouch', so to speak. Overprotective moms are always in fear of the worst possible scenario. They are easily nervous and paranoid about every little mundane bump on the head, scraped knee, or even a whisper of a sneeze which will inevitably lead to a visit to the doctor's chamber.
In the name of sheltering their progeny from all 'evils' of the world, they tend to want to create duplicates of themselves in their kids or versions of people they assume are ideal. These moms want to map out a life for their kids, so that they don't have to lift a finger, thus no struggles or chance of making mistakes. However, as well intended as the intentions may be, the reality is, we all learn best from our own mistakes at least to an extent. Thus rather than just listening to instructions, to truly ever be successful everyone needs to learn to be independent thinkers - making choices rather than following preset ways.
Hip, Metro Mom
Some moms feel as though they don't fit in, when it comes to their brood. They feel as though, in spite of the shared DNA their children are aliens they don't recognize. Thus to break the gap some mom's attempt to think like their kids and flow with the generation. Thus trying to adhere to ways of the kids and hoping to establish a 'buddy' bond, rather than a parental one. While it's great to be able to talk and interact candidly in such scenarios, it's often forgotten that there's a vast difference between friends and parents - that being the former is a confidant and the latter is a source of guidance, someone to lookup to. Kids and parents have several generations between them, they are not suppose to chime or fit in to the same crowd; thus best learn from what each generation has to offer the other - wisdom and new ways.
Free-spirited, Down-to-earth, Bohemian Mom
The Bohemian moms threw out the rule book years ago. They believe in creativity and free flow, as in 'do as you wish'. Now, while this may be the perfect scenario to be explorative, unique and grow up to be an authentic and super confident person. Sometimes these moms do need to set boundaries, after all growing up, no one is famous for being astute and 'sensible' and sometimes we all just need someone to tell us what to do. Trial and error, that's how the learning goes. So with independence and freedom, sometimes we all need a little nudge in the right direction.
Pampering Oblivion
It's rather common for every parent to want to give their kids everything possible, under God's golden sun. Thus sometimes some moms are reluctant to punish, in fear of being harsh, and they end up spoiling their kids to no limits. It's noble to want to give your kids 'everything' and sit them up on a comfy pedestal of perfection. However turning a blind eye, isn't doing anyone any favours.
People make mistakes and to learn the ropes of survival and success, everyone needs to go through the systematic motions of action and consequence.
Selfless, Considerate, Understanding Moms
When it comes to near perfection and balance, considerate moms hit a homerun. They've mastered the perfect blend of being stern, amiable, generous, forgiving, protective and loving, all wrapped in one. They embody the traits of balance. Like all other moms, they want what's best and fortunately they know where to draw the line between unyieldingly rigid, and just stern enough, they are protective without smothering, their communicative without being too nosy, they are carefree enough to respect the choices their kids make (they trust the lessons they've instilled) and they are forgiving, generous and giving without losing sight of limitations.
Now, to shed a little perspective on all this, it must be noted that there are few, who growing up, truly appreciate their moms. Strangely enough, mothers are perhaps most acknowledged once we flee the nest, to our independent lives. As such whatever the approach - balanced and harmonic or excessively extreme and highly in need of making a few alterations; all mothers who are proud to wear the title, always have the best intentions at heart.
More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index
    |
   |
