What Type Of
Mum Are You?

We all have different ways of approaching parenting – some are worriers, some laid back. Psychotherapist and lifecoach Christine Webber has described seven types of 21st Century Mums for Uncle Ben’s, drawn from observation, anecdotal comment and surveys in which she has been involved.

1. The Mum Who’s A TV Cooks Fan

She loves cookery programmes – particularly anything with Jamie Oliver in it. If she had the time and energy, she herself would cook from scratch every day and in the summer, she and her partner use the barbecue a lot. She does try to avoid takeaways but she admits that she sometimes does buy microwaveable meals – just because they are so quick, and she is so busy. At weekends, she always puts together a roast on Sunday and feels it is important for the family to sit around the table together for a meal.

Christine’s Top Tip

The Mum who’s a TV Cooks Fan is a model mum and she shouldn’t worry if she has to give in to her children’s demands occasionally.

Also, she may find it a good idea to investigate some other quick, convenience foods such as pasta and rice dishes – with ready-made sauces – which can be just as quick and nutritious. But always reads labels carefully though to make sure that she is not buying anything with loads of sugar, fat, salt or additives in it.

2. The Laid Back Mum

The Laid Back Mum doesn’t see why people make a fuss about feeding a family. Her strategy is simple – she gives the children what they want. She reckons that supermarkets would not be allowed to sell rubbish. She is on quite a tight budget so buys things that are value for money. She is busy and convenience foods make life much less stressful. Her children can be quite hyperactive but she thinks it’s just a stage they’re going through. She is however getting a bit worried that as a family they are overweight.

Christine’s Top Tip

Many mums would applaud the Laid Back Mum’s apparent relaxed attitude about food and children’s meals. But there are warning signs that her attitude may not be a very healthy one.

The other worry is the fact that the family are overweight. She should get the children to walk to school and she could probably still feed the family convenience foods – but find some where the sugar and fat content is much less. She could start reading the nutrition labels of food she is planning to buy and in no time at all she would find that this would become a very good habit.

3. The Festive Mum

The Festive Mum is very keen on celebrations as well as education. She does this by turning festivals into meal time occasions. She and her learn all about different cultures and food and dates in the calendar that matter to other people. She uses this as a way of encouraging her children to try foods that they wouldn’t eat normally.

She likes to use products that are ready-made but which she feels are healthy. In an ideal world, she would cook more roasts, grills and casseroles but she is too busy to do this except at weekends. What’s more, some Chinese and Indian dishes are quite complicated to cook from scratch and it’s just as good to pop open a jar of something.

Christine’s Top Tip

The Festive Mum is so good with children and yet it sounds very much as if she regards cooking and organising mealtimes as something she alone has to do. She could get the kids to help in the kitchen, and not just on the festive days.

Even quite small children can wash vegetables, or stir up a pudding mix, and they can certainly lay the table. Older children can cook if they are supervised and can peel potatoes and cook food in the microwave.

4. The Stressed-Out Mum

The Stressed-Out Mum is finding it hard to cope with her two small children. One of her children has recently become a very fussy eater and the other has a serious peanut allergy. The only thing the two girls both seem to like is fish fingers or cheesy pizza.

She worries about her family’s diet but fears that if she buys something new or healthier, her children won’t eat it. Periodically, she buys lots of fruit and vegetables, but often ends up throwing them away. She works full-time and feels she doesn’t have time to cook properly.

Christine’s Top Tip

It’s good that she sometimes buys fresh fruit and vegetables. So all she needs to do now is to make sure she uses them! It’s quite easy to blend fresh vegetables into a soup or how about a stir fry for a quick and healthy meal?

To encourage her children to eat more fresh fruit, she could draw up a Reward Chart and give the girls a stick-on star every time one of them eats a piece of fruit. She may not be able to eliminate the pizza or fish fingers entirely, but she may be able to reach a compromise with the children that they will try something new on alternate nights.

5. The Time-Poor Mum

Time Poor Mum is a career woman. She left school as early without qualifications,but she has more than made up for her lack of education. She has a management job in a department store and has got there through massive effort and working her way up through the ranks. Her children go to a child-minder after school and in the holidays. Sometimes they eat there.

At her place of work there is a food hall where she gets a discount, so she shops there most days. She thinks that most of what she buys is fairly nutritious but feels guilty that she doesn’t cook properly for the family and worries that some things may have too much salt or sugar or fat in them.

Christine’s Top Tip

She could add some variety to the evening meals by opting for some healthy but quick-to-cook rice, pasta and ready-made sauces.

She could also get a slow cooker. With a bit of organisation, she could set aside time in the morning to prepare something like a casserole and then leave it to cook all day while everyone is out of the house. That way all the family could enjoy a lovely, home-made meal in the evening.

6. The Happy Empty-Nester

The Happy Empty-Nester’s twin daughters have flown the nest to university. They are both still working full-time, but now they take far more weekend trips away and they eat out more.

After years of having to get meals on the table to feed the family, she is perfectly happy to have more takeaways and also to eat convenience items, so long as they are full of good ingredients. Both she and her husband are quite adventurous. She’ll tend to cook from scratch if she has visitors, but she has been known to save time by using a readymade sauce from time to time.

Christine’s Top Tip

Just make sure that while you’re enjoying your leisure living, you’re still getting your 5 fruits and vegetables per day even if not wanting a full on meal, could always go for quick and easy stir fry. These can be whipped up in a matter of minutes and are a really easy way of getting vegetables into your diet.

7. The ‘Mum knows best’ mum

The Mum knows best dotes on her family and thrives just as much on nurturing her children as she does on making her house a home. The kitchen is the heart of her home and she loves nothing more than to make a bit extra when doing the cooking, to give to the neighbours, friends or family the next day. She understands the challenges of feeding fussy eaters, but insists on giving her family a nutritionally balanced diet.

At the weekend she’ll treat the hoards to a traditional British roast dinner or shepherds’ pie, but mid week, she looks for tasty meals from around the world that are quick and easy to prepare.

Christine’s Top Tip

Be adventurous and give your quick mid-week meals that home-cooked touch by adding your own secret ingredients. Microwaveable rice can give perfect results in an instant. Customize with some chopped spring onions and mushrooms.

So what type of Mum are you? Take the quiz and find out!

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