On the riverbank…
According to the Globe, the new gorilla below is shown at fourteen weeks old in 2005. The baby Western Lowland Gorilla born at the Franklin Park Zoo is held by it’s mother Kiki, 23. The sex of the baby had not been determined yet since Kiki, being such a good mother according to zoo officials, has kept them from getting close enough to determine the sex.
According to Irvin Frank of the St. Petersburg Times, August 23, 1962, the qualities of a good mother include:
- The mother is interested in, but not dependent upon, literature on raising her children.
- The mother has “very solid, good memories of her childhood.” She would not be the type of mother who had an unhappy childhood and tries to compensate by giving her child everything.
- The mother should have a capacity of talking to children in such a way that true communication takes place.
- A good mother can handle children of different ages.
- The good mother has no career ideas. She can work as long as the work does not become an end in itself and does not compete for the interest of the mother.
- A good mother will – if necessary – spank the child at the moment the child does something wrong.
Imagine if that was printed in a newspaper today. It makes me laugh to think of the phone calls, letters, and emails the paper would immediately receive.
What qualities should a mother have according to what we have decided in 2009?
- The ability to ?love? her children unconditionally.
- Will listen and listen and listen and listen and not judge.
- Is unselfish with her time, talents, resources and attention.
- Has an abundance of patience.
- Is confident in herself.
- Loves herself and has a great self-image. (Where have I heard this one before?!)
- Encourages and assists their child to set out on their own path regardless of the mother’s desires.
- Shows disapproval when she feels that the child has done something wrong and has punishments/redirections that match the mistakes.
- Stands up for her own beliefs and remains consistent in order to gain respect.
- Has a great sense of humor and doesn’t let the small stuff wreck her mood.
- Is not ashamed to ask for help from friends and family.
- Treats each child as an individual.
- Ignores the experts most of the time and does what is right for her own child. (I think I have scored 100% on this one.)
- Has responsibility that enables the child to live in a safe and happy environment.
- Sets limits and sticks to them so that the child will have the peace that comes with knowing consistent boundaries.
- She nurtures herself so that she has the physical and mental ability to take care of the child.
- Compassionate. Empathetic. Sympathetic. Understanding.
- Knows the whereabouts of her child.
- Ability to budget the income and money.
- Is involved with their school and friends…knows their friends.
- Has a sense of playfulness. She is fun and can be silly and ridiculous sometimes.
- A motivator. The child’s number one fan and cheerleader.
- She is clear and concise. Lectures are left as punishment…HA! HA! (I have perfected this one!)
- Takes the time to teach the child.
- Is an honest woman.
- Speaks with a kind voice void of ridicule, shaming, or accusations and does not scream at the child.
- Involves the child in family decisions to show that the child’s opinion is valued and uses the opportunity to teach the child principles that she is trying to instill.
- She is always available and the child knows it.
- Respects the child.
- Stays “current” in styles, music, literature, events, etc.
- Provides service to others and gives the child opportunities to do the same.
- Pays attention to the child.
- Loves God and lives the type of life that reflects it.
I know that this doesn’t include everything and does include some things that you don’t agree with so feel free to comment and also to discuss in the BlogFrog Community here.
Resources used:
Families.com
Yahoo Answers!
Web MD
Advice.com
this was such a good post and such an encouragement to me! Thanks so much! I will be featuring it nect week in my links post!
…and in her free time…
***Ally
That was so touching! Ok, not the idiot mom who uses her child as a ragdoll, still I love babies…all kinds and you have written a beautiful post. Thanks so much!
Nice!
Do you think that ragdoll picture was real or did they use photo edit? I'm hoping it was edited. 🙂
Do you think that ragdoll picture was real or did they use photo edit? I'm hoping it was edited. 🙂
I think these are good loose guidelines, but I also think that they change a bit from child to child. Defining a 'good' mother – a 'good' ANYTHING is so subjective. It's good if it works. What works for one parent/child fails for another. Each pairing needs to find what works for them.
I so enjoyed reading this post, especially at this delicate time in my life as a new mother. It has encouraged me.
you always add value to my day!
My son and I were really enjoying the animal babies and then we hit the humans…his face looked so funny. I could just see his confusion. lol
And laughing hard at the thought of that 1960's article being printed now. Made parenting sound so….cold.
Lisa @
All That and a Box of Rocks
So atheists can't be good moms?!
I linked over here from The Mother Load. Congrats on your Scribbler award! I love your blog and will be following you!
Just excellent! And what was she thinking holding that baby like that? Ouch.
Thanks for a great post.
Well, I can't say that I have all those qualities but I still think that I am a good mother. I try to be at least.
My kids loved the animal pictures too. 🙂
P.S. – I've given you an award please go to my blog to receive it.
Enjoyed the pictures.
Found the list of good mother attributes great; but gotta admit to starting to feel overwhelmed by about the 15th one – yep, being a mom is not for the faint hearted!
Great post, well articulated.
I think a great mother is flexible.
So many Excellent points So very many that Ihope that I can stand up to as a good mother. Love the pictures had to laugh at the mom holding the baby by her leg. THat was just awful how would she like some one would do that to her?
participating in the comment challenge would you help me out by commenting on a special post for me
http://nightowlmama.blogspot.com/2009/09/samsung-washer-and-dryer-giveaway.html
I love this!!
Wow, what an inspiring post! I got teary-eyed after reading it. I am a new parent & a first time mother & the thoughts and photos moved me. Thank you very much!
Love the thoughts on mom's!
I had seen those images of animal mom's before with the woman holding her child upside down that was captioned "in Arkansas". Which was kinda funny to me since that's where I'm from 🙂
Lovely post. Sadly, the picture of the mother holding her child upside down reminds me of our society today.
All over the world women are showed, taught and want to bond with their babies from the beginning. Here in America, women are taught how to distant themselves away from their babies early on.
I also think every mother has a different definition of what a "good mother" is.
I enjoyed reading your list. There were things I disagreed with, agreed with and thought to myself " I do that, or I need to work on that"
Great post 🙂