to hate the cliche "busy mum"?

[MaureenCognito]

where are all the women who describe themselves as "bone idle sods who happen to have some kids in a cupboard somewhere"?

Loved reading this thread. YANBU!

Thought a cold caller once implied that I was not as busy as I claimed and could listen to her selling whatever, and I think her eardrums have not recovered yet...

I don't mind "busy mum" but "hard working families" always got my goat. How about "Trying to have a nice life balanced between work and leisure" families.

"Hard work is its own reward". Yeah, bollocks to that.

most people are busy. Few people describe themselves as having loads of free time - I do - I have an 11 year old at school so out of the house 8.15 - 4pm (on average) DH often works abroad - I don't go out to work, I have various voluntary jobs but in all honesty they don't take up that much time (although people often say to me 'don't know how you do so much in the community - I must just give the impression of being busy ).

I spend most of my day mumsnetting, going to the gym, reading or pretending to do housework.

So flame me .........

Without doubt people have more not less free time. People used to work 6 or 7 day weeks and now they t end not to. Working hours were much much longer. I was not even entitled to maternity pay for my first 3 children.

I hate it. It is the word "busy" that I do not like. It makes me think of "busy" patterns - ie lots of tiny pointless stuff combining to make an overall horrible mess with nothing major to give it any kind of focus.

I would prefer "individual capable of multitasking whilst still achieving" :)

A Sky leaflet came through my door with a photo of Lily Allen and a caption saying "Lily, singer and busy mum". She must be needing the money.

There's a book called Time Management for Busy Mums. Can't remember who it's by. It's very good actually. Full of lots of hints for time saving. Don't suppose there's one Time Management for Busy Dads. [hgrin]

Did anyone see that "thanks mum" advert showing lots of photos of kids with mum half cropped out? It was something like "she's the steadying hand, the fuzzy presence in tha back of the photo". Yeah thanks. Now I'm not even a person any more, I'm a fvcking hand.

Oh dainbardiva the Lily Allen Sky ads really annoy me. "Baby asleep in bed, Sky box sets... bliss." Now, I have very small people and I do love the moment they nod off and we turn our attention to a bit of dinner and the Sky+ box for a wee hour before I go to bed, but if I were Lily Allen I feel I wouldn't care quite so much because I would have a bloody maternity nurse who would carry them off at about 6pm and deliver them back at 8am, fed, changed and in a good mood. Has Lily spent the last 45 minutes of the day manically singing "Old Macdonald had a farm" over and over to increasingly grumpy 6 month old twins while trying to get the dinner ready? I do not think so.

So what? Are Mums not busy then? I've never come across a non-busy mother myself. It's not really a cliche is it? It's a matter of fact.

Yes, oxeye 'community' aaargh! It is overused to the point of being meaningless. Especially re minority ethnic groups. Witness the 'community leaders' who pop up who don't actually lead jack shit but are clearly on the call list of every overworked and unthinking media production assistant/researcher /whatever in the country. I don't recall giving any of them authority to speak for me.

I am a busy person. Being a Mum is part of that. But I do think 'busy mum' sounds patronising as hell!

I think for some mums its just competitive parenting. Some mums just seem to list how tired they are becasue of .... ds3's swimming/rugby/endless classes, cupcakes she's making for this/that/and the other etc etc.
I make sure I have lots of free time. I don't over-committ. Thats my choice.

given we spend -all the bloody time-- on here we are not that busy!

on a par with "I dont need to diet, running after the kids keeps me slim"

that said, when I am home with the kids, i do move more !

I mumsnet at work. I'm far too busy being a busy mum when I'm at home. Lazyarseitis at work is the key.

I don't like the 'busy mum' cliché either, it just reminds me of tools like Kerry Katona in those Iceland ads of yesteryear.

I know mums are busy, I am one, but most people are busy in their own way, aren't they? I don't like competitive busy-ness!

Its up there with people droning on about how much unpaid overtime they do because their job is so important that the company can't possibly function without them. Oh yeah? Just go on kidding yourself if it makes you feel better, but after the initial shock, the world would keep turning if you were abducted by aliens tonight.

Agree. I'm so 'incredibly busy', yet I find ooodddles of time for Mn'ing.
Err, that just doesn't quite add up then, does it?

I'm proud to be a lazy mum I have a car, dishwasher, washer/dryer, hoover, get my supermarket shop delivered to my door, in fact I do bugger all compared to my parents and grandparents when they were raising kids!
My personal pet peeve is the line trotted out by the "busy" celeb mums who always claim they lost their baby weight simply by "running around after their kids". Nothing to do with the personal trainer then??

Can busy people not have times when they relax?!

yanbu - i hate that phrase too. I also hate it when everything that might affect people - eg tax rises, motorway charges, is referred to as 'families' eg 'families will face tax rises', 'families will be foreced off motorways' - people are affected, and some of them might be infailies but many of tehm won't - how about them???

It's almost as bad as yummy mummy. Awful! Why inflict this on people?