Why mum's NOT the word for most mothers
It is the magical little word that most mothers hope will be among their child's first. Sadly, however, it seems that her joy at hearing the infant say 'mum' for the first time does not last.
According to a website aimed at mothers, many do not cherish the word for long and, for some, its connotations and associations are nothing but an irritation.
The website - which nevertheless adopts the word in question, calling itself MumsRock - says: 'You spend maternity leave trying to coax your baby to say the word and it's downhill from then.
News mums, for example Five News presenter Natasha Kaplinsky, are said to find the M-word irritating, according to research
'Once they're past age five they make the transition to calling you "mum" in an "I want something" whine, eventually petering out to a grunt in their teenage years.
'But it's not the use of the M-word by our children that I'm talking about.
'It's when it's used to group us into one big happy army of Next knitwear, sticky tissues and Tupperware.'
The website lists ten irritations about the use of the M-word, including nurses who call mothers 'mum' when they take their children to the surgery and the way that a mother loses her own name and becomes known only as, for example, 'Josh's mum'.
The posting on the website, which began as a light-hearted talking point, has provoked a massive response, and not just from mothers.
A father wrote: 'My wife received an invite from the primary school that said "Join all the other Mums for a night of fun, drinkies and chat". She is currently applying for a visa so we can move to Borneo.'
The comments might find favour with Myleene Klass, who last year admitted she was finding motherhood hard and didn't like being called a 'yummy mummy'.
The TV presenter, 30, said: 'Some people said I shouldn't be so frank but I was just tired of having all these yummy mummy myths perpetuated.'
The website also drew comments from those who wanted to defend the M-word. One woman wrote: 'I love it when my son calls me "Mum" or "Mama". It is a title to cherish and the best job I've ever had.'
Gigi Eligoloff, of MumsRock, said: 'It just goes to show, even a little word like the M-word has the power to bemuse, irritate and amuse.'
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