While we’re all in this mum life together, there’s no doubt that we deal with our children’s upbringing in different ways. What works for one person doesn’t work for another right?
So we got thinking about the Very Important And Often Fraught Occasion that is the parent teacher meeting, and how differently we mums approach it.
And okay, while our list is definitely more than a little tongue-in-in cheek, let’s be honest, there’s a definitely a grain of truth in here somewhere!
1. The mum who thinks the teacher knows nothing
This mum won’t even entertain the idea that her child is anything less than a little Einstein. And as soon as her slot is finished she’ll grumpily tell anyone who’ll listen that: “The teacher just clearly hasn’t a clue!”
2. The EXTREMELY proud mum
This mum wants every other mum to know just how amazing her child is. She’ll go through her child’s artwork piece by piece (“And this is a dog… and this one is me and her dad… oh, and this one is an abstract expression on what it means to be a ten-year old in today’s world”) while the other mums look on bemusedly.
3. The mum who thinks school is no indication of intelligence
This mum goes along to the parent teacher meeting under duress, because as far as she’s concerned, her child’s school performance is irrelevant. “I’ll be taking her travelling soon,” she’ll tell the other mums smugly, “and she’ll get the kind of life experience you just can’t get in the classroom.”
4. The mum who hogs the teacher’s time
This mum wants to know every single detail of her child’s school life, no matter how insignificant. This leads her to go way over her allocated slot, while the teacher tries to find a polite way to wrap it up.
5. The mum who takes it too seriously
This mum will arrive with a red pen, a blue pen, two folders and three refill pads. During the meeting she’ll furiously scribble down every. single. thing the teacher says.
6. The defensive mum
This mum is offended by EVERYTHING the teacher says. “What do you MEAN Evan has to concentrate more in class? This is shocking – I’ve never been so offended in all my life! I’m taking him out of this school if this is the way you talk about your pupils!”
7. The happy-go-lucky mum
This mum thinks it will all work out. Nothing fazes her at all. Any issues the teacher has with her child leads her to respond: “Ah sure kids will be kids, I’m sure it will all work itself out. I’m not worried at all”.
8. The mum who feels like she's back in school
This mum reverts to being twelve again the second she steps into the classroom, and finds herself feeling intensely uncomfortable and desperate to leg it out the door.
Do you see yourself in any of these mums? Or are you a tiny bit of each? We definitely can spot ourselves in some of them!
