The perfect mum juggles a part time job, runs a tidy house, and astonishes the kids with her ability to play; it was revealed in our most recent survey.
Our study of 3,000 children aged between 6 and 15 years old shows that youngsters have high expectations of their Mum. Indeed, most children say mum should get up at 7:00am and her biggest priority from then on should be enjoying time with them.
A whopping 73 per cent of children fully expect mum to help them with their homework daily, whilst 71 per cent claim the perfect mum allows them to watch TV whenever they have been good. More than two thirds say mums should be happy to play their silly games and role play whenever required.
In fact, kids reckon mum should be prepared to play outside with them for an hour and a half every day, and inside for another 90 minutes. Being able to let her hair down and enjoy getting dirty in the garden is also important to four in 10 children.
Our poll shows that children expect mum to take charge of household chores in addition to childcare and work.
Domestic goddesses up and down the country are expected to bake homemade cakes, make a packed lunch daily and cook all three meals of the day in under 30 minutes.
Sixty two per cent of kids say their mum should iron clothes, whilst 49 per cent expect her to do all the washing up and drying up.
But as well as providing for their children and being a bundle of fun, mums also give the best love and affection. Six in 10 children love it when mum gives them lots of kisses and cuddles, and 65 per cent appreciate it when mum is there when they hurt themselves. And half of those polled say the perfect mum would tuck them in every night after reading their bedtime story.
Kathryn Crawford, spokeswoman for TheBabyWebsite, said:
"Day in, day out Mums are told what they should and shouldn’t do for their children and how to be the ‘perfect Mum’. It seems we can never get it quite right.
"Well now, our children have ‘spoken’ and it turns out that they don’t want an all-singing, all-dancing ‘super-mum. They just want a normal everyday hands-on Mum who gives them lots of love and attention and is there for them when they need her."
Two thirds of children also say the perfect mum would praise them regularly for being clever or doing something nice. Half of kids would expect mum to come running the minute they called for her, and 60 per cent would be allowed to help with the cooking whenever they wanted. Whilst 43 per cent of children think mum should be available to ferry them around to friends houses and clubs whenever they need it. But despite this huge list of tasks, 57 per cent of children still think it is good for mum to work in a part time capacity.
Kathryn Crawford continues: "There’s obviously no such thing as the ‘Perfect Mum’ but our findings show that ultimately, there’s no substitute for ‘being there’".
TOP 20 THINGS THE PERFECT MUM DOES:
1. Enjoys spending time with the children – 75 per cent
2. Helps children with their homework – 73 per cent
3. Allows children to watch TV sometimes – 71 per cent
4. Is happy to play games – 69 per cent
5. Praises the children regularly – 66 per cent
6. Is there when the children hurt themselves – 65 per cent
7. Makes homemade cakes – 65 per cent
8. Gives lots of kisses and cuddles – 63 per cent
9. Tells the children when they are being good – 63 per cent
10. Irons clothes – 62 per cent
11. Allows children to help with the cooking – 60 per cent
12. Makes a packed lunch every day – 58 per cent
13. Takes the children to the park regularly – 54 per cent
14. Tucks the children in at night – 53 per cent
15. Comes running when the children call out for her – 51 per cent
16. Does all the washing up and drying up – 49 per cent
17. Reads the bedtime story – 43 per cent
18. Ferries children to classes and friend’s houses – 43 per cent
19. Is able to let her hair down – 42 per cent
20. Enjoys getting dirty in the garden – 41 per cent
3 Nov 2009
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