For Mother’s Day, LagosMums team interviewed a couple of mums to hear from the Horse’s mouth on what being a Mother truly means to them. Being a mum isn’t just a duty to them, it’s a lifestyle that they definitely love.
All our mums wear many hats but they still have one big loving heart. We asked about the many hats they wear and about the different aspects of being a mum. They were happy to answer our questions. Read and enjoy!
Oris Morolani
The founder of ‘ The Kings daughters Nigeria.’ A personal growth and character development platform for young girls and teens
Q. As a Lagos mum, how many hats do you wear?
A. Wow! Housekeeper, school runs, wife, cook, entrepreneur, teacher, writer, give first aid, advise, soothe, endless
Q. As a mum, do you plan your week ahead or do you take things as they come (one step at a time)?
A. Yes I do plan ahead but I keep an open mind knowing that the day may not go exactly as I’d like. I’ve learned that being flexible enough to adjust as necessary keeps me from feeling frustrated or inadequate
Q. Is your child planning to be a Davido or Wole Soyinka?
A. Neither. I encourage them to appreciate their uniqueness.
Q. What is your spanking equivalent?
A. We have “the talk ”
Q. Do you encourage little fitfam meals or junk food?
A. Fitfam all the way. Had to adjust when the stomach ache complaints become increasingly frequent.
Q. Why do you think mums should be celebrated?
A. Being a mum! I remember when I found out I was pregnant for the first time, I will never ever forget that day. I think I walked on air, that’s the only way I can describe it. Many years have passed and we have three kids and even now I’m still in awe about the beauty of motherhood
Yetty Williams
CEO LagosMums
Q. As a Lagos mum, how many hats do you wear?
A. I feel like I wear a million hats! Mum. Wife. Entrepreneur. Friend. Sister. Writer. Thinker and so much more
Q. As a mum, do you plan your week ahead or do you take things as they come (one step at a time)?
Q. Is your child planning to be a Davido or Wole Soyinka?
Q. What is your spanking equivalent?
Q. Do you encourage little fitfam meals or junk food?
Q. Why do you think mums should be celebrated?
Yvonne, CEO Pro Pops
Q. How do you spend quality time with your family and what activities do you engage in?
A. Modern families are always on the go. Between school runs, jobs and trying to meet up with life’s demands there is little or no time to relax. But we try to make time to bond especially with our four year old son especially at mealtimes and the short period before bedtime. We try to go out as a family and have fun as much as we can.
Q. How do you keep the ‘spark’ alive with your husband even with the children.
A. Being a parent means the needs of your children trumps yours. Nevertheless we try to keep the romance alive. We are aware that happy parents raise happy children. We appreciate and compliment each other constantly through thoughtful gestures and text messages. Also, we try to go on date nights when we can and we have what we call Friday night ‘happy hour’ which consists of seeing a great movie at home while we relax with a bottle of wine. Just really simple inexpensive things that ensure we reconnect often.
Q. Do you encourage little fitfam meals or junks?
A. Every child is different and there is no tested and absolute method to get children to eat healthy. Our son Kide does not care for snacks, cookies soda or candies. He loves home cooked meals. As a toddler I rarely offered him these things. We insisted on home cooked meals as soon as he started eating quantity that didn’t require us to offer him baby cereal as top up. This has helped tremendously in making him have a healthy eating habit. This has also resulted in less hospital trips.
Q. How do you build your child’s talents?
A. A child’s greatest support system is firstly his parents. My son thrives when you praise his achievements. “Good job”, “well done”, “high five” and all the positive comments lights up his face. I will say encouraging my son when he is struggling with something and praising and cheering him when he achieves a feat has helped immensely especially with his confidence.
Q. How do you manage the stress that comes with preparing the kids for school in the mornings?
A. I don’t think first time parents are ready enough for the demands of school runs. But if it were easy then there wouldn’t be great rewards. That said. Structure helps. We established bed time also set an alarm to wake up early enough to finish all we need to to do before heading out for school. Also we make sure that most of the things required to make mornings easier are taken care of the night before. School uniforms are ironed and laid out with other school outfit essentials, homework is done, lunch pack contents are sorted before we go to bed.
Mrs Tayo Ajayi
Entrepreneur, mother of two
Q. As a Lagos mum, how many hats do you wear?
Q. As a mum, do you plan your week ahead or do you take things as they come (one step at a time)?
Q. Is your child planning to be a Davido or Wole Soyinka?
Q. What is your spanking equivalent?
Q. Do you encourage little fitfam meals or junk food?
Q. Why do you think mums should be celebrated?
A. If you really want to know, check out the looks on the faces of mums watching their children achieve a milestone ; children’s first day in school, wedding day etc. It’s the joy of knowing you raised a child, you created something and all your efforts will be worth it in the end. The joy of having my “mini me” call me mummy.
As a mum, you are not alone. There are other mums out there going through what you are going through. It might not be in the same intensity but the struggle to do what is right for you children especially when you are not sure of your decision is something that happens with every mum. Just be yourself and Do You! Remember to take time out to spoil and appreciate yourself once in a while. You deserve it!
Happy Mother’s Day to all our mums!
