What exactly is a "mean mom," I ask you? I'm not really sure, because every time one of my kids has called me a "mean" mom, I'm usually doing a halfway decent job of parenting. Here are a few examples: "Eat your vegetables." Mean mom. "Turn off the tv, let's play a game." Mean mom. "Go have a bath." Mean mom. I figure there must be a whole bunch of other "mean moms" out there torturing their children with good advice too, so here is a list of the eight "meanest" moms in the world. Watch as a cautionary tale (or instruction manual, either way).
There are a few benefits to being a "mean" mom, if you ask me. For one thing, you don't have much to live up to, do you? If you're one of the world's "meanest" moms, the only place to go is up. Also, people will take you seriously, and when I say people I mean small children. If you build a solid rep as a "mean" mom, you'll never have to worry about playdates that last forever or becoming the neighborhood drop off for everyone else's kids. As my youngest son told me after I volunteered on a class trip once, "My friends think you're nice, except when they won't behave. Then we all agree you're mean." Why thank you, kind sir.
Here are a few other moms who've done stellar job at parenting, even when their kids might claim otherwise: