So what 'stereotypes' do I need to look for amongst the other parents at the school gates?

[Ceebee74]

Just wondering as I saw someone refer to a 'Queen Bee' on another thread and I thought ooh yes, I definitely know who that is at my DS's school'.

What others are there?

I am probably the 'harassed working mum'

At our school, Queen Bee Mum has unfortunately taken a dislike to me after I happened to mention that her dd had been rather nasty to mine (I do think 4 is too young to start bullying but unfortunately it appears to happen). I am now officially 'invisible'

I am definitely 'lives round the corner and is always late' Mum

goensouth - you have described my DCs lives but rather than being pushed by me they were all born with an overdeveloped competative gene.

I am "trying to shut them up mum" when they come out of school shouting that xx was rubbish at footbal, yy only got 3 in the spelling test and zz got told off 4 times in PE.

Drug dealer Dad.

Probably not a drug dealer but definitely looks like one. Late 20s, very short haircut, muscles, dressed quite well, gold/black tinted BMW, 'don't fuck with me' look on his face, grunts responses at other parents, keeping his sunglasses on.

Hey leQueen, if you are going to publish a book, I want a percentage of the royalties since it was my thread

Oh, and had to add, drug dealer dad takes phone calls in low tones, on multiple phones.

Wow I'm a rapper.

Nothing wrong with being Socially Inadequate. I have given up feeling the need to disguise it and just stand there scowling (once a term).

Rather irritatingly for Queen Bee mum, my smaller boy seems to be best friends with hers. He presumably hasn't inherited my SI gene.

vbusymum1 - I've got a naturally overcompetitive one like that too, and I used be "trying to shut them up mum" before I metamorphasised into "learning to be independent is good for them mum" and shocked the rest of them by letting ds1 be the first in his year to be allowed to get himself to and from school unaccompanied.

I want to be Invisible Mum. I have horrible social anxiety problems and an unfortunate tendency to keel over, and I'm really serisouly dreading all this already, even though it's a year away :( Unfortunately (well, not really, but you know what I mean!) I have a loud, ginger, hyper-sociable, attention-grabbing child who is the polar opposite of me and will want to talk to every single person in the playground and has already started dragging me up to random people in the street and declaring 'This is mummy!', so I'm stuffed, really!

What will the rest of you make of me, next year when dd starts school.

IE doesn't speak to anyone due to a combination of abject fear and avoidance.

Tall, blonde highlights,smartly dressed highish heels always got (designer prescription, my mates an optician) sunglasses on due to having sensitive eyes.

In reality vegetarian, grows own veg does yoga obsessively and goes to the gym x 3 per week.

Not remotely competitive, happy to let the teachers get on with it and skulks off as fast as possible after drop off.

Have tried (and failed) to read all this thread. Has anyone mentioned 'Italian Stallion'?-Sexy dad with glossy black mane hair, olive complexion, sharp suit and VERY expensive shoes, with a gaggle of 'sunglasses superglued to my head' mums following after him and swooning. both school we've been at have had one of those!

spiderlight you have described my dd to a tee! (except she's brunette although ds is ginger!). She's horrifyingly sociable, makes friends everywhere therefore forcing me to speak to other parents. Hell on Earth!

forgot to change name back after Hallowe'en name change comp!
Another just realised I made my last post sound as if I couldn't be bothered to read the whole thread-not true! I'm really enjoying it, but keep getting interupted, which is why I failed to read it all before posting.
Off to change name back now!...

LeQueen - I'm definitely not that dad. I'm a drop them off, pick them up and disappear dad.

I think dads very, very rarely see the school gate as a social networking opportunity, whereas mums do a lot of the time. The exception will be made if a hot milf pleasant mum in a tight skirt starts chatting to us :)

Drive-By Mum: who stops on the double yellow lines outside the school, come rain or shine,and lets her kids out of the car into the traffic while the PTA Parking Sub-Committee glare from a distance.

Walking Bus Mum: she leads a bunch of embarrassed looking 9 year olds in yellow vests saying "Ting Ting!" at every road crossing, to make the bus stop....

Lego-collecting-on-Ebay Mum: no visible means of income support, yet her chld always has the latest rare Lego figure, which she tells you she's bought from some dodgy bloke on Ebay, and you can't quite figure out how she did it!

Judgemental Mum - itching to criticise others for their rubbish parenting skills

The cake baking mum who brings in cakes after school - I love her but my waistline doesn't!

Have we had mum-who-really-prefers-the-less-bitchy-company-of-men-and-therefore-cringes-at-the-school-gate?

I am unkempt mum with the son prone to random miaowing and the daughter that everyone thinks is called Rainbow who scarpers at full speed to the nearest end of the playground.

Ahhh, havent read Mallory Towers in 30 odd years. rereading Chalet books right now tho

darn it! Wrong thread!!!!!!!!!!!

Love this thread!

There's also the mum who uses her son to draw attention to herself, her son has will have behaved himself perfectly on the way to school (so no attention from any other parents on route!), and then once they're within metres of the school gate his mum will start -

"RIGHT, DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR READING BOOK/ I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN LAST NIGHT'S BEHAVIOUR/AS YOU'VE GOT FOOTBALL TOMORROW AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT ALL THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK MUST BE DONE TONIGHT, DON'T FORGET YOUR FOLDER!"

Yes she really shouts! The teachers on school gate duty know what she's like now, they just smile politely, ignoring the fact she wants them to think what great/strict parenting skills she has! I just feel sorry for the child, he just wants to slink into school unnoticed!

She starts as soon as he's out of school too, we all try to avoid her if possible, although I have felt sorry for her son and invited him back to play sometimes. He plays well with my child and is an angel compared to some of the other kids, do feel sorry for him with his mum the way she is!

Reading all this with recognition but horror, esp at comments about non-glam older (unkempt hair) mums who work as well... speaking as one, please be friendly! And many mums seem to only want to fix playdates for kids where they feel the parent is their 'type'...

headlesschicken That'll be me too! Apparently PTA Mums are going to sort me out.
Ops! I mean give me a make-over not beat me up.