Posts Tagged "Mother’s Day"

I wrote the following post a few weeks ago for Engage:Moms and thought the time was right to share it with Mom Market Trends readers:

Candy and flower sellers, beware. What you offer is not what moms really want for Mother’s Day.

To get a feel for what was really important on this special day, we polled 70 moms.  The results offer some insight into how moms think.

Despite the fact that moms so often say they are overworked, totally stressed and desperately in need of time for themselves, Mother’s Day is clearly not the day they want to take it. Fifty moms said they wanted to spend that time with their families rather than on their own.  When it came to how to spend that family time, 50% more moms preferred “just hanging out at home” (30 moms) to “brunch” (20 moms) as their favorite Mother’s Day activity. Only a few opted for movies or shopping. Other plans for the day included walks on the beach, going to the park, cookouts, picnics and short trips.

Moms who preferred to spend time alone opted 2:1 for “doing something just for me” over “doing nothing but relaxing.”  For moms who wanted to do something special for themselves, pampering was the name of the game: 22 opted for massages, just edging out manicures and pedicures. When asked what Mother’s Day gifts they would most like to receive, moms chose “help around the house” far more frequently than the alternatives: brunch, dinner, flowers or jewelry.

Not a single mom wanted to spend the day “catching up” or “with friends.” Interestingly, only two said they wanted to spend the day with their own moms.

Yet when queried about which moms inspired them most, 44 cited their own moms, while most others mentioned other family members and even friends. Celebrity moms – Hillary Clinton, Anne Romney, Michelle Obama and Angelina Jolie — received a total of 16 votes. Mrs. Obama led the pack, while Hillary and Angelina each received one vote. No votes here for Anne Romney – but with five sons of her own, she won’t exactly be lacking for attention on Mother’s Day.

Starting today, Mom Market Trends will be hosting a series of guest posts. Our very first – on the Friday before Mother’s Day – is from our own Marie Baker, Director of Team Mom, our company’s award-winning mom blogger network. Marie is soon to become a first-time mom herself and would like to share the news about a new Child’s Play Communications client, bellybuds.

As a publicist, it’s always exciting to have the opportunity to work with products that you personally love! As a mom-to-be – that’s right, two months to go – I’ve been addicted to one such product: bellybuds.

This weekend will be Mother’s Day, and this is one gift I think expectant mothers would love to receive. Bellybuds are a stylish and fun way to bond with your baby by playing audio to the womb.  You can play music or other sounds (like recorded voice messages from grandma), and they reach the baby at a safe decibel level.

Just plug in any standard mp3, digital music player or sound device, and the bellyphones can be placed anywhere on the abdomen.

What’s great about this device versus others on the market is that bellybuds are wearable speakers that adhere right to the belly. That’s right – no crazy belts or strange contraptions. These bellyphones just stick right on there with reusable and skin-safe hydrogel. Not only are they comfortable and easy to use, but bellybuds are also portable – this means you can wear them while you exercise, work or go shopping!

Being music aficionados, my husband and I take our future child’s music tastes very seriously. So when I first showed my husband bellybuds, he was pretty excited. In fact, his first reaction was, “Wow, I wish I had thought of this idea!”

So, what music does this little one like? What tunes has the baby reacted to the most?

After regular usage, I am sad to report that our future rock star seems to prefer my husband’s taste in music. Truth be told, I think this little one might actually share my husband’s obsession with Tom Petty. Oh well, what can you do?

If you are on the hunt for a last minute gift for the mom-to-be in your life, or you have a baby shower coming up, be sure to check out bellybuds. The Deluxe Pack retails for about $49.99. For more information, please visit www.bellybuds.com.

Readers, what was your favorite gift to get as a mom-to-be? Bloggers, if you are interested in checking out bellybuds for yourself – just let us know!

Mom-stats worth repeating from this week’s Motherlode blog.

• Mothers make 73 cents to every dollar earned by an equally qualified man at the same job.
• Single mothers make about 60 cents compared to that dollar.
• Over a lifetime, mothers earn from $40,000 to $2 million less than men doing the same work, due to gender wage disparity.
• A full quarter of U.S. families with children less than six years old live in poverty.
• Motherhood does not come with Social Security or health benefits.

Happy Mother’s Day.