New research has revealed the top 50 signs that you’re a competitive mum.
Queueing up to get the front seats for the school play, always winning the ‘mums race’ on sports day and producing ‘Bake Off’ standard cakes for the fair are just some of the ways competitive mums try to impress, the study found. Other ways mums try to ‘get-one-up’ on the opposition include making sure the children have all the latest technology and gadgets, and owning the biggest, but badly parked, motor in the car park.
Four out of five mums admit they feel incredible pressure to impress their child’s teachers, and as such organise the most amazing presents for the teacher at Christmas, ensure their child reads 10 times a week instead of the recommended five and practice spellings over and over to make sure their child aces every test. And mums who address the teacher by their first name very loudly in the playground to show how well they get on are also pinpointed as those who are trying hard to make a good impression.
In addition, those mums who spends weeks creating and hand-making outfits for nativity plays and fancy dress are considered ‘competitive’, as are those who volunteer for every event going at the school.
The study was conducted to mark the DVD and Blu-ray release of Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey? due for release November 2nd. A spokesman for Entertainment One said: “Despite mums not wanting to admit they are competitive, the survey findings indicate that they very definitely are!
“Some of the top 50 signs are simply a result of loving mums wanting the very best for their child, which is why they spend hours and hours hand crafting outfits for plays or going over homework.
“Similarly, the desperation and rivalry mums experience when queuing up for the school play is only a result of them wanting to get the very best view of their little one performing, but it does bring to mind the image of mums elbowing each other out of the way and behaving very badly! The fact is that when you become a mother, to a certain degree you automatically become competitive, as you spend so much time comparing your own abilities to those of other parents, and your child’s achievements to their peers.”
Other tell-tale signs of a competitive mum include constantly bragging about the child’s achievements on Facebook or uploading videos of the kids looking particularly cute. Even the way mums dress means they are labelled as competitive – particularly if they look immaculate with well-manicured nails, a perfect mane of hair and impeccable dress sense, or if they turn up to the school gate decked in exercise gear head to toe.
Similarly, the way the children are dressed can point to a mum who cares what other people think, as many judge parents of children who are well turned out in a clean and tidy uniform with school logos and polished shoes, or alternatively, children who have a certain ‘skater’ or ‘hipster’ style.
Four in 10 mothers are even concerned about being the ‘coolest’ mum amongst their children’s friends, and in a bid to win this respect throw amazing parties for events such as Halloween or Christmas. In addition, these mums will invite children round for tea several times a week and when they do come round to visit they are allowed to do whatever they want, such as having water fights, playing with nerf guns and eating anything they fancy.
Being on the school PTA, volunteering for the ‘Friends of the School’ charity and ensuring the children have amazing things to ‘show and tell’ are all signs of a mum who is wary about what others think. And the most competitive mums of all will even check in the book bags of children who come to tea to see what reading or spelling level they are on.
Perhaps oddly, only 15 per cent of mums polled claim they are not competitive at all, and yet six in 10 say it is incredibly important to them that their child always looks the part for school plays, nativity plays and carol concerts. Furthermore, four in 10 admit to spending hours and hours rehearsing their child’s lines and song lyrics with them to make sure they are the best on stage when performing at school.
The spokesman for Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey? continues: “Mums seem quite keen to insist they are not competitive, when in reality they are.
“But this competitiveness comes from a good place – straight from the heart.
“Britain’s mums obviously want the very best for their children, and if that means queuing up for the school nativity play, spending 10 hours lovingly embroidering a costume, and reading for an hour every night, they’ll do it.”
Top 50 Signs You’re a Competitive Mum
