YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM: 7 Friends Every Mum Should Have

Matthew Imerhion

Every mother should have a circle of mummy friends to form a support structure for those times when the challenges of raising up young earthlings become overwhelming and to also add value and spice to their personal lives. The ideal types of mummy friends you should have depend on the type of mum and individual you are. Let’s look at 7 types you should consider:

1. Oh! You Too? Mum

She’s going through what you are currently experiencing. You probably met her at the hospital during antenatal, when you were out shopping or during school runs. You both get talking and the rest is history. She gives you a sense of comradeship, fellow mum-soldiers pressing forward, expanding the frontiers for motherhood. Tell her what you have been doing about that nagging problem that you both share, listen to her suggestions, exchange numbers and promise to call, you know, to rub minds further and chat about other things besides parenting.

2. Fitness Mummy

This one is a buff for staying fit. She’s loves her joggers and sneakers, always looking trim and talking about “the other day at the spa…,” it’s no wonder her clothes always fit perfectly. You had better go and get your own joggers and sneakers because she won’t give up trying to drag you along for aerobics on Saturday morning and you will do well to follow her one of these days. What if there’s no time? Oh come on! Make time because you will be the better for it.

3. Stylish Mummy

She’s a cat-walking artwork of fabric and fashion flare. Even when she’s strapped with a baby carrier or towing a toddler, colours match and people are delighted to feed their eyes on the pleasant display. She’s the type that knows the right shade of colours that suit you. She knows how to look good on a budget and knows where to get affordable quality fashion accessories. You need a friend like this around you who will give you free fashion consultation that will give your fashion sense a boost!

4. Spiritual Mummy

She’s the one that places emphasis on spiritual growth and development for everyone around her including you. It is usually better to have one that shares the same spiritual beliefs with you. Believe it or not, everything that happens in the physical first happens in the spiritual and so being spiritually active will help you cope with the inevitable hassles of motherhood and life in general.

5. Inspirational Mum

You always look forward to talking with her type because she looks past all your limitations and makes you feel like a Super-mum and more. Oh well, at least she makes you believe that you can be that. She has got the right quotes, anecdotes and analogies that make you go ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ She inspires you to dream and be a goal getter.

She is interested in your passion, wants to see you fired up, working with and around your mummy duties and being all that you could ever aspire to be.

6. Google Mummy

What about the ask-me-anything type of friend? She makes it her business to know everything that has to do with parenting and growing children. She is not sure if it will work but she knows what it’s all about. She knows where the latest artificial insemination clinic is, what the average weight of a new born baby is and how to operate the new breast milk expressing machine. She’ll save you from a lot of panic and misinformation.

7. P.T.A. Mummy

It’s imperative that you get a mummy friend who has a child in the same school as your child’s. In fact, such relationships are almost inevitable because one mother is sure to select you as her own P.T.A. mummy friend if you don’t select one. They can keep you up to date on the goings-on in your child’s school and even help you keep an extra copy of the new school curriculum they handed out at the last P.T.A. meeting you missed. Your kids can study together and both families can hang-out and develop a mutually beneficial relationship.

Finally, the fact is, one woman may have a combination of most of these attributes. Wouldn’t it be great to know someone like that? Knowing the type of individual you are should inform the type of mummy friends you need to balance out your life and make you a better mum and individual.