National parenting expert wants Mother's Day canceled

by Irene Nam (Subscribe to Irene Nam's posts) May 10th 2006 1:31PM

(From crazedparent) National parenting expert Hal Runkel, LMFT, author and creator of the award-winning and best-selling Scream Free Parenting Program says "there should be no such thing as mother's day".

"While it sounds great to have a day when we recognize and appreciate our moms who do so much in our families, what about the other 364 days?" he adds, saying that every day is Mother's Day, each day is a special gift and that we all should be the best we can be and make the best of every day.

I must admit that I understand his point, I feel the same way about International Women's Day. Recognition should not be a one-day exclusivity. Yet I don't think there's something wrong with having a special day to celebrate mothers. Actually, it's one of my favorite days of the year and I can't wait to see what my little boys have made for me!

What do you think? Do you want Mother's Day canceled?

Source

Comments (498)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 25)

Bluepaintred 5-10-2006 @ 1:43PM

NO WAY!
One of the biggest highlights of my year is waiting for the gift my son worked so hard over at school. last year it was a baby food jar full of colored layerd sand with a tealight candle in it. ive gone thru about 40 candles now LOL, i cant wait to see what he has made for this year. all i know is he is super excited and wants to tell me but i told him to wait :o( who knew he could keep a secret! i figured he'd spill long befor now! oh well, just a few more days!

Caitlin 5-10-2006 @ 1:51PM

We personally don't celebrate it for me, but that was my choice. Both my mom and my mother in law enjoy getting little things like a card and a current picture of us on Mother's Day. (Their biggest complaint is that they never have a current picture of us once we became adults, so my mom gets one of Paul and I, and my mother in law gets one of Paul and my husband.)

I'm lucky and I know my efforts are appreciated. But there are a lot of moms out there whose efforts might only be acknowledged that one day a year. Just because it's not my cup of tea doesn't make it right for me to try to take that away from them.

thordora 5-10-2006 @ 1:59PM

I condone anything that gives me presents...:)

Honestly, I'd prefer that all "certain type of people day/week/months were gotten rid of. I find it allows segmentation-"Oh, we'll wait until Mother's Day to give you a nice card."

I'd rather people just be nice and fair to everyone everyday. But that's just me.

ann adams 5-10-2006 @ 2:15PM

For myself, it's a Hallmark Holiday and one I could probably live without.

On the other hand, I'd miss the little things the kids bring home from school (although mine are almost too old for that now). Now they're more apt to bring me breakfast which I will enjoy if it kills me.

I think the kids would miss doing it as well. Their teachers have always been careful, by the way, to tailor the greetings and gifts to the recipient which, in these days, is not always mom.

And, as long as my mom, now 93, is still living, she'll hear from me on the day. It's important to her.

I wouldn't cancel it; I'd just try to remember how special parents/caregivers are the other 364 as well.

IEC 5-10-2006 @ 2:23PM

Of course it would be a man that wants Mother's Day cancelled. No mother would be so dense.

Of course every day should be Mother's Day, and Father's Day, and Grandparent's Day, and Secretaries Day, and Eat Chocolate Day. But sometimes it takes a holiday to remember what's truly important. To those that will walk this coming Sunday in rememberance of mothers with breast cancer, the day holds even more meaning.

Jared 5-10-2006 @ 2:29PM

Mothers should be appreciated throughout the year, but do any of us appreciate anyone as much as we should? Such special occasions like these remove us from everything that distracts us from what really matters.

As a Christian, I know that God should be the focus of my life, but he very often isn't. Too many shiny things. So, I attend church every Sunday to put my focus where it belongs.

At the very least, both my mother and my wife deserve brunch and a card for what they've done for me.

Sylvie 5-10-2006 @ 2:32PM

WHAT! It's only my second one and they are trying to get rid of it! I so look forward to one more day of presents. Isn't that the whole reason for becoming a mom?
Seriously I kind of get Hal's point but let him take a stand about Father's day and leave our day alone!

Jill 5-10-2006 @ 2:38PM

My firstborn and I came home from the hospital the day before Mother's Day, and my husband prepared pancakes with fresh strawberries for us both in the morning. Whe I was growing up, my sister, Dad and I made the same breakfast every year: pancakes with fresh strawberries, so it was a great treat to be the mom finally. We don't do anything else, but I won't be giving up my breakfast anytime soon!

Mandie Christenson 5-10-2006 @ 3:02PM

My daughter looks so forward to planning special Mothers Day surprises with my husband. Too cute to watch them whisper giggle and say SSSHHHHH mom's coming!!

AJ 5-10-2006 @ 3:10PM

I'm sure Hallmark would have no problem with people celebrating Mother's Day every day. Or mothers for that matter. But what about fathers? How about we give mothers midnight to noon and fathers get noon to midnight? OK, sure, that means moms lose many of their recognition hours due to sleep, so maybe we could alternate hours. Moms take odd, dads take even.

LB 5-10-2006 @ 3:35PM

Sure I see the point but gimme a break. I checked out the site (that quiz is silly. I didn't like any answers) overall I found Runkel to be another smug bastard trying to tell those of us in the trenches how to do it. I'll add him to my list of insulting male experts that I hate along with Dr Phil, Rabbi Shmuley and Alfie Kohn.

Uncle Roger 5-10-2006 @ 3:35PM

Wasn't this an episode of NewsRadio? Jimmy James wanted to outlaw mother's day? Turned out he'd forgotten to get his mother something...

I'd be fine with ditching this and other "holidays" which only give us an excuse to ignore people the rest of the year and make hallmark richer. Of course, my wife's family single-handedly turned hallmark into the giant it is, I think. Someone cuts their hair and everyone gives everyone else a card. And they're all sappy hallmark sayings. Blech. I only buy blank cards and write somehting myself if I have to give a card.

I say ditch the whole thing and, yes, father's day too.

Nicola 5-10-2006 @ 4:25PM

Ok, fair enough, "every day should be Mother's Day", but are any of us actually appreciated, cherished, and given thanks for all of the hard work that we do as mothers and wives? Mother's Day is the day that they do actually stop and say "thank you" for everything that we do all day and all night, every day and every night, all year long. And maybe there is some chocolate and, if you're really lucky, thirty minutes for a relaxing bath. We need and deserve a day of recognition for all that we do. And then we'll start all over again...

VenturaMom 5-10-2006 @ 7:41PM

DUDE?!?! What's he on? As a mom, I would love to know in both word and deed that I'm appreciated and great at what I do. Yes, it would be nice to hear it daily. Since that rarely happens, at least give me one day in May to revel in my mothery-goodness. Sheesh. Men!

ann adams 5-10-2006 @ 9:35PM

AJ, there is a Father's Day. It's in June sometime.

AJ 5-10-2006 @ 9:49PM

Ann, yep, I'm aware of the holiday. It's the one day a year I can gripe about not being given flowers.

Kira 5-10-2006 @ 10:47PM

Um...NO. I mean, yes, I should be showered with appreciation all days of the year, because I TOTALLY DESERVE THAT.
But I'm pleased with my once a year extravagence of waffles made by my son, cards with pictures of explosions from my two younger sons, and a lunch cooked by my husband.
Plus maybe flowers, who knows? The world is my oyster for one day.

Tom 5-13-2006 @ 2:11PM

Mothers alway get nice things for mother's day but dad's on father's day get useless ties or stuff that gets put away in drawer and eventually put in a yard sale

Brad Nelson 5-13-2006 @ 2:15PM

Mothers day is Okay. But not to be used as an excuse for husbands to take their wive's out for dinner and shower them with flowers and gifts. That's for the offspring to do.

anjela 5-13-2006 @ 2:15PM

Ok, then maybe we should get rid of father's day also. Then we can get rid of valentine's day also. Then chop off Thanksgiving and July 4th. After that, we can take out Easter and maybe Christmas, just to be fair. All of our holidays are intended to celebrate one specail thing that should be celebrated all year long. WHy is mother's day any different.

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 20 Comments

How To Submit Photos:
If you'd like your children (any age will do!) featured on ParentDish, upload photos into the ParentDish Flickr Pool. Be sure to read our main Flickr page for more information.