I love being a mom, but motherhood needs a rebrand
I love being a mom. My kids are my favorite people. Through ups and downs, toddlers to teenagers, I wouldn’t trade parenting my four kids for anything.
Aside from Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day is the most Hallmark-oriented holiday on our calendars – a day created by companies to commercialize love.
It works too. In 2025, Americans are expected to spend approximately $34.1 billion on Mother's Day. That’s more than what consumers spent on Valentine’s Day. Does that mean we value our mothers? I’m not so sure.
Motherhood is complicated and political, at least in modern times. Once a woman becomes a mother, it touches every aspect of her life. From equal rights to arguments over stay-at-home-moms versus working moms, to education, vaccines, sports and college – all of these topics are ripe for debate and have policy implications.
As a mom, who’s been parenting 18 years now, what stands out is just how dichotomous it is. Motherhood is a constant rollercoaster ride of joy and pain, difficulty and comfort. Often, both at once.
A lot of women have delayed or avoided motherhood altogether. The U.S. fertility rate is declining. We need to understand why women aren’t having babies and couples aren’t having families? Healthy societies need an influx of babies.
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For a lot of women, Mother’s Day is a reminder of their greatest joys and struggles. They love being a mom, but it can feel overwhelming. I have felt this too.
I know it might seem counterintuitive, but I bristle a bit when Mother’s Day rolls around, not because I don’t love being a mom, but because I know moms do so many things that are unseen, unheard and unknown. One delicious brunch doesn’t come close to acknowledging these efforts that are 24/7 for many years. I know I feel this way about my own mom. And I hope my kids feel that way about me.
Being a mom is an amazing privilege. I hope most women feel that way, so many more make the leap into motherhood.
More from me and my colleagues:
- Trump doesn't fear smart women. It's progressives who are really afraid.
- Trump's 'beautiful' tax bill will do a lot of good. But there's one big downside.
- Biden made a mess of the border – and with student loans. Trump cleaned up both.
- Walz's weird 'code talk' moment exposes why Democrats keep losing