Mothering Week - Day Three...a GIVE AWAY and What Kind of Mama are YOU?

Hello Rose Heads!  Welcome to Day Three of Mothering Week here at What Rose Redd Said.  The purpose of MOTHERING WEEK is to provide a little insight, guidance and perspective on what it's like to be a modern mother of the 21 century.

I know you're interested in the GIVE AWAY right?  Well, of course you are! Don't worry it's at the bottom of this post.  Now, this is where you tell all your EXPECTING mom friends or ladies with toddlers to head on over to the What Rose Redd Said blog so that they can win three AWESOME books that are GREAT TOOLS for Mothering..."What to Expect When You're Expecting", "What to Expect The First Year" and "What to Expect the Second Year".

Now...moving along to today's topic "What Kind of Mama are YOU?"

Before I had Picard, I had many delusions of grandeur.  Delusions like I would never allow him to watch television, he would always be fashionably dressed and neat, my house would never have toys and miscellaneous children's items strewn all over and my husband and I would provide nothing but the best educational experiences for our budding genius.  WELL...you know what they say about the best laid plans (I know I've said that recently...but, that's on cliche that's worth repeating)!  When he finally got here and I got settled into my mothering style, I realized that your mothering style is important and sets the tone for the relationship you have with your child.  I've have plenty of time to sit back and observe different mothering styles and I think there are four basic categories.  Now, of course everyone doesn't fit into one of these categories.  This is only my opinion!  See if you fit into one of these...

BUBBLE MOM:

Bubble Mom is a member of Baby Center, Cafe Mom, What to Expect and any other mommy on-line community.  She regularly checks the American Academy of Pediatrics' site and follows whatever new guidelines, suggestions or tips that comes along without deviating or forming her own opinion.  Her children drink soy milk, she sends her children to organic friendly, sustainable schools, she uses organic cotton cloth diapers for her babies, she believes that her children should express themselves at all costs and doesn't allow her children to be vaccinated.  She and her children live in a bubble in hopes they won't be contaminated by the fatty, sugary, dirty and gritty world.

RULER MOM:

Ruler mom has a list for everything and everyone in the house.  The lists are on the refrigerator, on a cork board in the hall and probably on her cell phone too.  Her belief is that if everything is organized to a "T" then, there will be no unexpected situations or chaos.  Her children do everything on a schedule and seldom deviate from the plan.  She also has a list of staunch rules that everyone must abide by; not just for the house either.  There are car rules, restaurant and shopping rules as well.  Ruler mom makes a lot of decisions for the children and doesn't expect her authority over the children to be challenged.

FRIEND MOM:

Friend mom wants her children to view her as an older friend that is simply there to help provide for them.  She allows her children to make a lot of decisions on their own.  She allows her children to debate with her as opposed to allowing her word to be final.  Friend mom is flexible on what the children eat, what time they go to bed and when friends can come over.  She attempts to gain her children's respect through a more passive friend role as opposed to an authoritative parenting role.

OLD SCHOOL MOM:

Old school mom is equal parts "Bubble", "Ruler" and "Friend".  She is concerned about current trends in child safety, health and nutrition. However, not so concerned that she will abandon something she feels is right for her child simply because someone says it's not.  She has a set of rules that she would like for her family to abide by.  However, the rules grow and change as the children grow and change (that eating only in the kitchen/dining room will probably always be a rule though).  She is approachable when her children need to share something with her.  However, she is not going to tolerate even so much as an inkling of disrespect or mistreatment from anyone in her home.  Old School mom is more balanced.

I think at some point, I've been all of these types of moms but, Old School mom is my neutral starting point always.  What kind of mama are you?

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