| Mothers
Are Special People
by Matilda
Raffa Cuomo
From the beginning
a mother knows that satisfying her child needs to be her number
one priority, that nurturing, caring and parenting are essential
for the child’s development. Two generations ago this nurturing
would be a full occupation of one of the parents, usually the
mother. Today most children don’t have the benefit of that kind
of parenting.
With the change
in our culture and in the nature of families the role of the parent
has altered. Many parents like single mothers now are obliged
to leave their children part of the time, to help earn a living
for their family. This has required new afterschool support systems
to help in caring for the child. On the other hand, mothers today,
are generally better informed than they were years ago, and are
able to make the decisions that decades ago they would defer to
their teacher or pediatrician.
Parents are the
most valuable influence in a child’s life: children learn more
from their example than from any other source. It is usually the
mother who checks homework, communicates with the teacher and
the school. When parents speak of the importance of education
and demonstrate their words by attending school conferences, meeting
the child’s teachers and following up with their homework, their
children realize that the parents mean what they say. That helps
instill confidence, self-esteem and affection in the child and
respect for their school.
Children more
than ever, today, need guidance and supervision in their lives.
Their environment, media, entertainment and exposure to negative
even immoral situations are a bad influence and conducive to their
bad behavior. The negative influences in movies, entertainment
generally, on the internet and everywhere else in today’s environment,
require parents and especially mothers as a positive, loving reinforcement.
Mothers are the ultimate true friend, loyal companion, teacher,
mentor and so much more. As the child develops, this becomes clearer
and the older and wiser they get, the more they appreciate and
cherish their mother. For many the loss of one’s mother is a pain
that lasts a lifetime.
On Mother’s Day
we remember our mothers, and have the chance to express gratitude
for her unconditional love. That is a good and useful thing to
do, because she is—and always will be—one of the great treasures
in life.#
Matilda
Raffa Cuomo is former first lady of New York State and is the
Founder and Chair of Mentoring USA. (www.mentoringusa.org, musa@mentoringusa.org)
.
Education
Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
Tel: (212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919.Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express
consent of the publisher. © 2003.
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