Article:Slacker Moms' urge other mothers to chill"

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General Chat-Viewable by Public > 'Slacker Moms' urge other mothers to chill
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From: inginouity
Date: 2007-05-09 10:44:47
Reply: http://abqhomelearners.org/reply.php?topic_id=1312



By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY



There's a backlash brewing among the Other Mothers. They, too, love their kids and want to raise them right.

But unlike the much-hyped Alpha Moms, whose desire to be The Perfect Mom sometimes leads them to excess in the name of excellence, the laid-back mothers are gaining ground.



"It's a different version of the Mommy Wars," says Sharon Hays, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California-Los Angeles.



The original Mommy Wars focused on the ideological battle between stay-at-home mothers and mothers in the workforce. This newest skirmish is more about personal parenting styles.



The so-called Alpha Mom is a marketing creation, the Super Mom of yesteryear with a few new twists. Alphas are educated, can-do types whose organizational skills bring a corporate mentality to their parenting and a technological agility to their problem-solving. These high achievers will often surf the Web and blogs for advice. They've also gotten plenty of media attention.



But sociologists, including Melinda Forthofer of the Institute for Families in Society at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, say there's no evidence Alphas are actually better mothers.



And now an anti-Alpha movement is taking hold. Those moms have it together sometimes. They may forget to send back permission slips or lose track of their turn for team snacks. They don't necessarily have the catchy name, though some call themselves Beta Moms or even Slacker Moms as they urge their peers to chill.



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http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-05-08-alpha-beta-moms_N.htm?csp=34