Mums are feeling more and more pressured than ever before to get their little one potty trained and sleeping through the night.
A new survey has found that mums, all over, feel pressure to help their children achieve these important milestones early on in their lives. Mums are worried about being criticised by friends or family who have children of their own if their children are 'late' to pass certain milestones.
75% of mums admitted that they found other parents competitive over whose child reached significant milestones first. More than half of the mums surveyed admitted they felt 'uneasy' when asked by other parents if their children had done something or not.
2000 mums with children under 7 were polled for PULL-UPS® and their spokesman said:
'It is not surprising that potty training is the top milestone mums feel pressured by, as the whole process can be a very stressful time for parents and children alike. However, it is important for mums and dads to remember that all children develop differently and that parents and child have to embark on achieving significant milestones, such as potty training, when they feel ready.'
The majority of mums agree that most of the pressure comes from friends and family members but one in five said that simply chatting to other mums automatically makes them feel competitive about their children. a third of the mums surveyed readily admitted that they try and avoid many playground mums simply because of their competitive behaviour!
Many of the mums surveyed said that they felt under pressure from other people and this pressure made them feel like they were doing something wrong. Over 50% of the mums admitted they found themselves worrying after seeing children the same age as their own child age, apparently developing more quickly than theirs.
Child psychologist, Emma Kenny, said: 'Infants, just like adults, are individuals who all experience their worlds in their own unique way. Whilst some infants seem to effortlessly achieve each milestone, others will take longer, which is completely normal as these are stereotypes of development, not absolutes. Any mums worried about other peoples parenting skills being better than their own should take a moment to look at it from their child's perspective, if your infant is smiling, laughing and secure then you are doing an excellent job.'
1 in 10 of the mums surveyed admitted they had been 'really pushy' with their child in order to make sure they could do certain things, and many of the mums have even lied and said their child had done something when they hadn't just because they felt so uncomfortable around competitive parents.
Not unsurprisingly, the general consensus amongst the mums surveyed was that they were far more likely to push their children to reach the next stage of development than dads were.TOP TEN LIST OF MILESTONES MUMS FEEL PRESSURE TO ACHIEVE:1. Potty trained
2. Sleeping through the night
3. Walking
4. Talking
5. Reading
6. Writing
7. Staying dry through the night
8. Eating solids
9. Counting to ten
10. Making friends
Potty Training Tips and Advice
September 2011
*The research was commissioned for by PULL-UPS® through MumPoll who surveyed 2,000 mums with children under the age of 7.The research was carried out between the 5th and 10th of July 2011.
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