From ending relationships with friends or family, to cancelling travel plans, giving up a career and losing the ability to be spontaneous, mothers confess their incredible sacrifices for Mother’s Day.
The new research, from greetings card marketplace thortful, is part of a wider national study to find out exactly who the person is behind being “mum,” to inspire people in the UK to show their mum’s they truly know them on Mother’s Day.
Currently, almost one in ten (18%) Brits confess they don’t show their mums enough appreciation, and 21% even claim they don’t know what makes their mum feel appreciated, prompting thortful to find out:
- How well UK children know the person behind the mother.
- The amazing sacrifices mums have made to be the best parents possible.
- Mum’s suggest gestures and ideas for Mother’s Day that will truly mean something special to them.
Although 29% of people in the UK say their mum always put parenting first and wants to be a mother first and foremost, 20% claim their mum has openly said she made sacrifices to parent them.
thortful has looked into the sacrifices made by mums to inspire people on how they can treat their mums on Mother’s Day and beyond. For example, 27% claimed they didn’t fulfil their travel goals, 20% would like more time to themselves and 17% stopped a hobby or passion. Booking a trip away, giving mum alone time or buying gifts relating to a mother’s interest could be a go-to for Mother’s Day gifts.
On a deeper level, 31% of mums confess to sacrificing a relationship with friends and family, 29% stopped being as social and 17% left fitness and wellbeing routines behind. See the full list of sacrifices below:
| The amazing sacrifices mums have made to be the best parent they can be | Percentage |
| I sacrificed a relationship with my friends or family | 31% |
| I stopped being as social | 29% |
| I swapped my travel goals for family holidays | 27% |
| Spontaneity and freedom in day-to-day life | 24% |
| Having time to myself | 20% |
| My fitness and wellbeing routines have completely changed | 17% |
| I’ve stopped a hobby or passion | 17% |
| Being able to do nothing without feeling guilty | 14% |
| My identity – I’m now ‘mum’ to everyone | 13% |
| I’ve given up a dream career or job | 12% |
| Being happy with my appearance or body | 11% |
With 13% of mother’s confessing they feel like they’ve lost their identity, and are only known as “mum,” thortful asked them exactly which gestures could bring back some of their previous ambitions and aspirations on Mother’s Day.
As well as being as personal as possible with cards and gifts (11%), travel is top of the list for most mothers, with more than a third (34%) looking to go on an adventure.
Common amongst the list are free gestures to try. In fact, a quarter (25%) of mums would love to try bringing an old hobby or passion to life with their children, whilst 24% would like to be shown appreciation and recognition.
Regular phone calls (17%) and spontaneous visits and trips (15%) are simple levels of communication that a mum would appreciate, whilst other parents are reliant on their child’s growth – 9% would like them to be considerate of timings and logistics, whilst 7% would like to see their children become self-reliant. See the full list of gestures for children to try below:
| Mums suggest ideas and gestures for their children to try on Mother’s Day and beyond | Percentage |
| Arrange a trip away or holiday together | 34% |
| Arrange time for mum and child to try some of their ambitions and hobbies together | 25% |
| Showing appreciation and recognition without being prompted | 24% |
| Help them ignite an old hobby, interest or passion | 17% |
| Regular phone calls | 17% |
| Take them to a concert, event or activity | 16% |
| Spontaneous visits and trips | 15% |
| Personal cards and gifts | 11% |
| Help them create a side hustle or do training on a career interest | 10% |
| Introduce their own hobbies and interests for mum to try | 10% |
| Be considerate of timings, sorting out their own logistics arrangements where possible | 9% |
| Show mum their own personal growth (stop borrowing money, move into their own accommodation etc.) | 7% |
Thortful has listed 10 questions to try asking mum on the run up to Mother’s Day:
- What did you want to be/do growing up?
- What is your favourite childhood memory?
- What has been the most valuable life lesson?
- What gives your life a sense of purpose (away from being a parent)?
- What would you like people to remember you for?
- Do you have any hobbies or interests that you want to pursue?
- Are there any plans or goals you have for your career?
- What is number one on your bucket list?
- What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
- What is your favourite thing about yourself?
