Motherhood is a challenge in the best of times. So, how are mothers holding up amid the not so best of times? A survey released this month by Meredith Corp.'s The Parents Network (which includes Parents, American Baby and Parents.com) gives a detailed look at how mothers are feeling about their parental role and their lives in general, with implications for how marketers ought to address this audience.

Polling for the report, conducted during the summer by Synovate among mothers with at least one child age 12 or younger, found respondents distinctly upbeat about life as a mom, even as they acknowledged some shortcomings.

One part of the poll presented a number of terms and asked respondents to pick the ones that describe how they feel "at this point in your journey through motherhood." The top three vote getters were "happy" (cited by 80 percent), "content" (65 percent) and "confident" (63 percent). However, the respondents were not oblivious to the travails of motherhood, as the next two items in the standings were "exhausted" (55 percent) and "worried" (47 percent).

But "frazzled" was well down the list (cited by 32 percent), leaving it behind the likes of "organized" (45 percent) and "powerful" (38 percent). This would seem to suggest that advertising's stereotypical image of the frazzled mother is out of sync with how a majority of mothers see themselves. "This is a generation of women who grew up multitasking," says Diane Newman, vp, group publisher of The Parents Network. "They've really sort of got it under control."

Rather than portray mothers as frazzled, she suggests, advertising would be more likely to create a rapport with today's mother if it "pats her on the back" for coping as well as she does with the multiple demands on her time. Another of the survey's findings suggests mothers pride themselves on this ability. When respondents were asked to cite elements of their lives that have improved or gone downhill since they became mothers, the highest "improved" votes went to "ability to multitask" (70 percent) and "prioritizing" (62 percent).

Still, when it comes to "having time for myself," 79 percent said this aspect of their lives has deteriorated since they became mothers. Likewise, "me time" ranked third (behind "fitness level" and "financial situation") when mothers cited the parts of their lives with which they are least satisfied. Notwithstanding the skill mothers deploy in juggling their many tasks, it's clear that the "me time" deficit is a major issue for them. When asked how they "make sure you make time for yourself," 25 percent answered, "I don't make time for myself." For that matter, the top answer to this question (given by 51 percent) was that they "run errands/chores without the kids" as a way of getting "me time" -- which scarcely sounds like much of a breather from their responsibilities.

Under the circumstances, Newman says, it's important for mothers to be reassured that they're entitled to take time for themselves and to tend to their own physical and emotional well-being. "That's an important message to send," she says. She compares it to the instruction parents traveling by plane are given at the beginning of a flight: "Put on your own oxygen mask first."

Fitness is one area where time-starved mothers have not been heeding such advice. Fifty-eight percent cited their "fitness level" as a part of their life with which they're dissatisfied. The related area of "physical appearance" was also high on the list of dissatisfactions, cited by 48 percent. When the mothers were asked to say which kinds of professionals they'd most like to have assisting them if they had their druthers, "personal trainer" came in second only to "cleaning person/service." (Relatively high on the list were "chef/cook," "nanny/babysitter" and "interior decorator," while "personal assistant," "chauffeur" and "sex therapist" were at the bottom.")

Despite the high priority mothers give to their physical condition, though, Newman says marketers haven't done a good job of addressing mothers in this area. "Marketers just think about the single-woman segment," she says. "But the problems arise more when you become a mother." She cites weight gain as a conspicuous element of this, in part because of the time constraints imposed by motherhood. "You can't go off to the gym for a couple hours," she notes, when you have young kids to deal with. But that doesn't mean mothers have stopped caring about the matter. In what may be wishful thinking on respondents' part, "lose weight/get in better shape" got the most votes (64 percent) when they were asked to say which of the things on a lengthy list they are very likely to do at some point in the next year. "It really behooves marketers to help mothers deal with this," says Newman.



The survey finds mothers less worried than you might guess about their children's weight. Though 33 percent said they're at least somewhat worried about "my child(ren)'s weight/obesity," that put it at the bottom of a roster of worries. (More than twice as many were worried about "bullying/teasing at school," for instance.) And Newman sees little eagerness on the part of marketers to try connecting with mothers on the basis of this issue, if only because the mothers themselves seem to shy away from it, despite a media drumbeat of news about an epidemic in childhood obesity. "Parents don't seem to really recognize that their own children may be dangerously obese," she notes.

Newman sees more signs that marketers in the financial sector have awakened to the opportunity that mothers represent, particularly in the context of the current recession. Fifty-three percent of the survey's mothers subscribed to the statement, "I'm paying more attention to my financial/investment statements now." Nearly as many, 51 percent, agreed, "I'm paying more attention to news on the economy." Financial-services marketers have tended to overlook the CFO role that many mothers already played in the past, but some are catching on that the recession -- having heightened (not to say aggravated) mothers' concern with financial matters -- gives them a fresh opportunity to connect with this audience. Newman mentions The Parents Network having discussions with financial marketers who are finally looking at mothers as a target audience "for the first time."

Of course, mothers' greater attention to financial matters during the Great Recession has often taken the form of economizing. "The good news is, she's finally learning to save," Newman says of the prototypical young mother, who came of age in an era of heedless spending. The focus now, she notes, is much more on "value" and living within one's means. That's reflected in the survey's findings. Fifty-five percent identified their financial situation as an area in their lives with which they're dissatisfied, 74 percent said they're worried about "the cost of raising children," and 48 percent agreed that they're "worried by the amount of money my family spends."   

Spending cuts, meanwhile, are the norm. Sizable majorities of the survey's mothers said they've reduced outlays in the previous six months on "little extras for myself" (72 percent), "clothes for myself" (69 percent), "going out for meals with family" (66 percent), and "going out for meals with spouse/partner" (59 percent). Half have cut back on "foods that are a treat" and "holiday/leisure travel."

Still, it's not as though they see their children enduring lives of downward mobility. One question in the survey asked mothers to compare the standard of living their kids now have to "what you had growing up." Twenty-eight percent said their kids' standard of living is "much better," and another 28 percent said it's "somewhat better." Twenty-seven percent said it's "about the same as I had." Just 5 percent said it's "not nearly as good as I had growing up," and another 13 percent said it's "not quite as good as I had."

See also:

"Moms Spend Wisely"

"Mom's a Penny-Pincher"

"SocNet Branding Fails to Sway Women"