Mother’s Day From a Child’s Perspective

There’s a lot to be said about the value of Mothers. I heard an NPR report the other day that estimated that mothers work 100 hours a week, and if they were paid the current salary for all the jobs they performed they would earn $270,000 a year. But of course, mothers don’t get paid for being mothers, well except for a few fringe benefits—like the well timed kiss or hug from an adoring child.

Gratitude—it’s a gift that small children still value, yet somewhere along the way consumerism seems to seep in corrupt this still pool of satisfaction. I noticed this while reading a selection of new Mother’s Day books from HarperCollins. They desperately addressed the same issue: Mom doesn’t really want something for Mother’s day. What she longed for the most was love and appreciation.

In Daine de Groat’s book, Mother, You’re the Best! (But Sister, You’re a Pest!), Gilbert the opossum searches for just the right Mother’s Day gift. In this hardback picture book designed for ages 3-8, Gilbert’s little sister Lola keeps upstaging him. In the end, his quest to keep his sister preoccupied turns out to be the perfect gift. This adorable book not only suggests that the best Mother’s Day gifts are free, but address sibling rivalry as well.

Another humorous Mother’s Day picture book, T. Rex and the Mother’s Day Hug by Lois G. Grambling, pokes fun at the bigger is better mentality that tends to get so many of us in trouble. As T. Rex considers his gift giving options, his mother assures him that a big hug is more than enough. But T. Rex wants to do MORE: a strategy that hasn’t really worked out for him in the past. Although T. Rex goes overboard yet again, in the end he manages to get it just right.

However, the mother themed picture book favored by my three-year-old daughter was a cherished classic: Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? (Spanish Edition). This fabulous book features Eric Carle’s timeless illustrations and embraces the simple premise that everyone has a mother giving young readers a moment to reflect on what it means to have a mother.

And that’s all we really want—to be appreciated. As I was writing this post today, my daughter woke up and brought me a simple card and gave me a big hug and kiss. Jewelers will tell you we deserve diamonds, florists will recommend flowers, and connectionists will tell you we crave chocolates, but gratitude is the greatest gift of all—both for the giver and recipient. Although we do deserve diamonds (about 270,000 dollars worth each year), love is priceless.