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A Soccer Mom is often portrayed as a dedicated parent who juggles family life with the demands of chauffeuring children to sports and activities. Emblematic of suburban family commitment, she represents the tireless effort to nurture well-rounded children. But is there more to this cultural icon than meets the eye? Discover the evolving identity of the modern Soccer Mom.
Her day may begin at 6 or 7 in the morning, preparing breakfast for the children. She ferries them off to school in a minivan or SUV and perhaps uses a call list to announce a rescheduled game or remind other parents about a PTA meeting. After school, she picks up kids from one or more schools and drops them off to do various activities, including soccer. On weekends she brings kids to games, prepares snacks and cheers her children on. This is the traditional soccer mom.
This term came into use in the 1990s, as a means of describing a group of mothers who might not work outside the home. Of course there are exceptions. Many soccer moms work from their homes, or hold full-time jobs. In addition to the duties listed above, the mom is associated with political groups and alliances and has been used as a term to describe the voting demographic of stay at home moms.
Most often the soccer mom may be parenting young children, while her husband or partner earns their single income. She is usually college educated, Caucasian, and relies on a middle class or greater income made by her partner. The term "soccer mom"has also been used in a negative sense to suggest that the these women are less than sympathetic toward working moms, and have little to do besides being the transportation method for her kids.
In actuality, there’s very little truth to the concept that mothers who parent their children full time are not working. Some studies suggest that stay-at-home moms may work the equivalent of two and a half full time jobs. Yet the term "soccer mom" may be slung as an insult to suggest a stay-at-home’s mom lack of sympathy with working mothers, or rigid political ideals.
The soccer mom seems to reflect, at least in the US, national voting trends. A shift from Democratic to Republican presidents was a national shift, and both elections for President Bush were close ones. These moms are by no means either all conservative or all liberal, but tend to be a good sample of the split-voting group represented by Americans. In Canada, this figure or "hockey mom" is thought more liberal, or less associated with being a political group or voting force.
In a sense the term "soccer mom" is an overgeneralization of what mothers do. Working moms are also responsible for getting kids to school, to games and to other activities, and they may be equally involved in schools or volunteer work. Moms in general, not just soccer moms, are important from a political standpoint, and the wise politician knows that appealing to this audience is valuable.
Tricia Christensen Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent PublicPeoplecontributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests includemedicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currentlyworking on her first novel.
Learn more... Tricia Christensen Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent PublicPeoplecontributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests includemedicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currentlyworking on her first novel.
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Discussion Comments
Bhutan-I think for some people they can stay home, but choose to work instead.
My sister by contrast, was the breadwinner in her household and could not afford to stay home. It is not always easy, but I think that if you can, you should because your children will only be little for a short period of time.
I know that you will wonder where the time went. Also, if you are involved with your children you can guide them through difficult periods of their lives like adolescence when peer pressure is at its greatest.
The important thing is to spend quality time with your children. So if you are working, make sure you carve out some time for your kids so that later they will not get into trouble.
Latte31-I know what you mean. My husband and I made the decision that I would stay home to raise our children before I became pregnant.
We paid off our mortgage before my daughter was born and saved money. My husband’s career took off and luckily when never had any financial problems like most couples that initially make the choice to stay home.
We worked hard to make this transition but I think it was well worth it. I get to take an active role in my children’s lives which helps them understand how important they are to me.
Sunshine31-I know that there is a certain level of guilt that a working mom experiences. My daughter had a classmate last year that was ten years old in the third grade because she was retained a year.
Her parents were both very accomplished people. Her mother was a dentist and her father was a successful attorney. Her parents split up and got a divorce and that little girl struggled all year just to pass the third grade.
Now in fourth grade, she is still struggling. While I respect people’s decisions to seek a career and end a marriage, clearly in this instance the child’s education was not a priority.
Sometimes these things happen when people have too much on their plate, but children should always be a priority.
Suntan12-I know from my own experience that helping your children with their homework can be really time consuming.
My kids both go to a tough private elementary school that is really challenging. Although both my kids have good study habits and have no problem getting their homework done, it takes time to check all of their homework to make sure that they did it correctly.
Checking the homework helps you catch what your children are struggling with so that they don’t make the same mistake on a test.
I do not know how the kids whose parents work demanding jobs do it. Because I can sometimes spend hours reviewing homework and as a result my kids get good grades. Children also become more motivated and excited about school because you are showing an interest.
I think that stay at home mothers that are also soccer moms work really hard.
They are consumed with their children’s afterschool activities and often have little time to themselves.
They also volunteer at their children’s school in addition to maintaining a household and helping their children with their homework.
They take pride in their children and devote the necessary time to help them.
Working mothers also work hard and often miss out on a lot of milestones and school activities because they are working.
It is also hard for them because they need their salary in order to pay their bills so many don’t have the opportunity to stay home.
