As much as other moms have made me roll my eyes with the utmost judgment and other moms’ kids have made me glad to have my own two crazies, you never know. You just never know what is going on in their worlds and their lives. While I may scowl at your tight butt in your Lululemons, I’m really sending you a secret high five. You’re either a rock star who totally motivates to get to the gym no matter what, or you still have some comfortable clothes left over from your cuter, gym-socializing days and haven’t actually done laundry in a month (and you’re naturally blessed with great genes). Or maybe you’re a fitness model ready to go to work, or maybe you’re a professional on your day off. Whatever. I don’t know why I actually went this far even thinking about it.
When I first read this article about the 5 Types of Moms You See at Preschool Drop-Off, I chuckled just reading the headline, thinking I was totally going to be able to relate. And actually, the article had a wonderful main idea—that it didn’t matter; all types of moms were awesome and loved their kids just the same.
But it got me thinking; this typecasting was annoyingly familiar and completely wrong at the same time. And it’s not the author of the original post who came up with the labels. We all do it. Like I said, I’m the first one to let a rogue stereotype cloud my vision before blinking it away. But I wish it wasn’t all that familiar. I wish “moms in yoga pants” wasn’t a Google keyword.
Here’s the real Types of Moms You See at Preschool Drop-Off:
1). Tired Mom – Maybe she was up all night because her little one has a new habit of waking every hour to ask for a drink of water. Maybe she is about to drop her kid off at school and race home for a 3-hour snooze. She might even get a load of laundry in before she has to run back for pickup. After taking 20 minutes to drop off her kiddo because he won’t let go of her leg, she walks outside in a daze, looking straight ahead so she doesn’t have to pretend to remember any of the other parents in her exhausted stupor. She would love to get a friendly hello and a smile.
2). Awake Mom – Psyched because she got more than 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, awake mom has a smile on her face and says hello to everyone (today). She has time to chat with the teacher, and her kiddo gives her a huge hug and kiss before relinquishing her to her day without argument. She would love to get a friendly hello and a smile.
3). Stay at Home Mom - Maybe she is sad today; she hasn’t been connecting with her kid very well lately because she’s been overwhelmed with bills and household chores, and she is torn between wanting to use this time to get things done and wanting to keep her kid home from school to have a few extra hours together. Maybe she’s feeling grateful this morning that she has the whole day ahead of her and she gets to call all the shots. Or maybe she is about to drop her kid off and go home for a glass of wine. She would love to get a friendly hello and a smile.
4). Working Mom – Time is usually a factor in this mom’s drop-off plan; everyone has to be somewhere at a certain time. Sometimes it’s exhausting, and sometimes it’s just the routine everyone has gotten used to. Sometimes she’s sad she doesn’t get to spend more time with her kid, and sometimes she’s looking forward to 8 hours without hearing whiny voices. She would love to get a friendly hello and a smile.
The funny thing about these preschool moms is that you can’t really tell who’s who just by looking at them, although we all make our snap judgments. The mom in the yoga pants may not have seen the inside of a gym since she graduated from college 15 years ago. Tired mom might have blown her hair out this morning to drown out the sounds of her kid’s tantrums. Looking at these moms, you might have no idea what they are dealing with or what they are going through, but I’ll tell you what: they would love it if you gave them a friendly hello and a smile.
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