To ask which mummy must-have skill are you rubbish at?

[mommabear12]

I can't bake a cake to save my life but every other mum seems to confidently knock up a perfect spongey masterpiece for any occasion!! When did they all learn this?!!!

I can't do sports of any kind. The kid who was always picked last for teams in gym class? That's me.

This was also me, but I have found as an adult that I am not utterly rubbish at running. School PE teachers are not interested unless you have natural talent. And I have done a first level running coaching qualification and last weekend I did an athletics officials course. So I can help out with running and athletics, and I can swim (ds and I doing swimathon team event tomorrow) and we do bike rides together.

As for cooking, I prefer eating. Hence why I need to run to burn off the calories.

God, everything.
Keeping a tidy house
Pretend play
Making food acceptable to 5 year olds that isn't an omelette or fish fingers
Plaits that actually stay in for more than six seconds
Birthday cakes - went to a party that had a pirate ship with cannons that 'fired' jelly tots, all homemade by loving parents. My DD's third birthday cake was so disasterous that it ended up being a birthday trifle.
Crafts, knitting, sewing
Playdates - I'm generally terrible at organising other people's children (and see food, pretend play, etc above)
Patience
Doing anything useful when DD is around

The washing is usually done, and luckily I've inherited my mum's ability to make a costume in less than 5 minutes using a pair of net curtains and a stapler.

I hoped this was a joke. But it obviously isn't.
"Mummy skills"?? And everyone jumps in with stories about their lack of expertise in plaiting hair.
I despair.
Is it the 1950s? Are people on this thread serious?
This is utterly depressing.
By all means, gain an expertise in plaiting hair that makes you proud but for the love of God don't call it a "Mummy skill"

Holiday most people here are mums, though. So they're just parenting skills.

Yesssss to whoever said Minecraft. DS talks about it for hours on end and I just want to scream "I DON'T CARE, I DON'T CARE, I DON'T CARE!"

Patience and building lego. I'm also crap at organisation. I do a lot of arts and crafts and messy play though and I bake all the time. Strengths and weaknesses!

Of course the people on this thread aren't serious, it's a jokey thread. Yes, they are parenting skills, not exclusive to mums but as this is Mumsnet, it's not unreasonable to address the post in a general sense to mums.

And yes to Minecraft here too, I just nod and think "WTF?" to myself.

Ok. It's a joke.
I imagined people were in earnest.

I'm glad I was wrong.

It's not that funny a joke, mind you. But whatever floats your boat

Oh my goodness cheerfulyank the endless minecraft monologue....I've never done so much mmmhmmming in my life!

Still I'm grateful he wants to share it with me...

I'm crap at whipping up a picnic lunch. If I asked my Mum at any given moment to make a picnic she'd be on it in a jiffy. Naice ham, ciabatta rolls, salad stuff, a homemade cake etc.
I could muster up a few bags of crisps and an elderly apple, or worse an expensive supermarket trip featuring loads of disappointing cakes and assorted crap. And my Tupperware is never the right size or is missing the lid.

I forgot to mention that I am very good at making costumes for the fucking thousands many events at school and nursery.

My daughter has an uncommon name, quite old fashioned, and yet there is another little girl in her class with the exact same name - first and second names!! I was picking them up from school on Tuesday (I don't pick up often as they normally catch the bus) and one of the other mums came up to me:

Her: I always get your daughter confused with the other and can never remember which one is which until I see the mums. So the other one is the one with the attractive looking mum?

Me: You mean ?

Her: Yes, that's the one. So this must be - so you're the mum who makes the fantastic costumes!

Nice to know that we've been differentiated in such a complimentary manner!!

Always having a tissue. I thought that was a god given skill when you gave birth but I've still never got one.

Can't deal with wobbly teeth, can't look at them, cant touch them, cant help if sore. Anything else I'll give it a try (excluding anything spider related) but not teeth. Only 5 more to go and the baby teeth are all done.

Patience

Lighten up a bit holiday!! It's a tongue in cheek thread. "Mummy skills" is a deliberately twee term and just means the things you seem to be expected to be able to do when you become a mum. I'm well aware it's not the 1950's but that's sort of the point - there are still things we feel obliged to do even in this day and age!

Red toothbrush - I referred to mind as we are on mumsnet. Not because dad's issues aren't important. I think there is still a lot of gender stereotyping - it would be cool if dh plaited the hair and I put the doll's house together but we both heartily prefer it the other way round,

This is s light hearted look at the unrealistic roles and expectations we put on ourselves when we become parents and how we inevitably fall short of them! Sometimes it's good to have a laugh at ourselves but I appreciate the humour and camaraderie will not be shared by all!

Sorry mums not mind - bloody auto text!

moohootoo, you never met my grandmother or DH's grandmother. They tried to cook, oh yes they tried. You wouldn't have wanted to eat anything they made.

"
This is s light hearted look at the unrealistic roles and expectations we put on ourselves when we become parents and how we inevitably fall short of them! Sometimes it's good to have a laugh at ourselves but I appreciate the humour and camaraderie will not be shared by all!"
Arse of the highest order.
Am I allowed say that?
Classic back tracking arse.

I love the way the use of the word "light hearted" is seen as some sort of get out of jail free card here.
i.e. I just made a ludicrous/embarrassing observation that truly represents what I think but I now want to desperately distance myself from it having see how badly IT reflects on me

Remove splinters

Rubbish gardener.

Putting myself together. I'm the bedraggedled mum in the street with mismatching shoes, hair that hasn't been brushed (or looks like it hasn't), clothes that are totally un-coordinated....what's with the mums who step out of the front door with glossy hair, flawless make- up, heels and designer handbags- that's a mum skill that I definately have not mastered! If you are one of those mums I hate you how do you do it!

My sewing skills are shite. DS' s trousers were too long so I thought I'd sew them up until he grew. Luckily her grew quickly because my sewing (and I really tried this time!) did not last long at all.

My baking skills are so so, sometimes I nail it, other times its awful. I let them help me make their birthday cakes and they were sooooo dry! DDs got frozen until her party but I secretly binned it and made another which was really nice.

I hate imaginative play. I'm crap at it and get bored very quickly.

Going to the park. God its so boring!

I'm not good at letting them make a mess. Happy for them to do crafts, and do it too, but only when the appropriate mats are down, no mixing play doh, try not to get it on the floor etc etc.

I am also rubbish at letting them have friends over. I find it stressful! And feel like I should be doing something so their friends don't see me just sat on my arse.

However I love reading to them, will be sad when they don't want this, their home is nice and tidy and well looked after. I am very organised and they would never miss anything, be late etc. I enjoy doing crafts and they have a whole double kitchen cupboard for their craft stuff, I also like board games and can't wait until they are old enough for monopoly and that.