Are you an alpha mom? A USA Today article last week profiled the trend. What does an alpha mom mean, you ask?
An alpha mom is educated, tech-savvy, and Type A. Alpha moms have a common goal of mommy excellence.
She is a multitasker. She is kidcentric. She is hands-on. She may or may not work outside the home, but at home, she views motherhood as a job that can be mastered with diligent research.
For better or for worse, the phenomenon of the alpha mom has got the attention of marketers. According to the article, everyone from Nintendo to Cadillac has identified and targetted the alpha mom. She typically has money to spend and is "a leader of the pack who influences how other moms spend."
Read the full article here. We're sure our AT: The Nursery readers have a lot to say about this so comment away!
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Count me out. To me, the idea that "motherhood i[]s a job that can be mastered with diligent research" seems like hubristic folly.
And as for parlaying that into television, I have yet to see a "Mommy" show that is not excessively patronizing--"Surviving Motherhood"? "Bringing Home Baby"? Please.
I guess I would prefer, as a mom, to be known as something other than a "hyperactive purchasing agent."
view lb's profile
Blech.
view mjoe's profile
Ugh. I know women like this and they make themselves miserable from the constant drive to be perfect. The women I most admire are those who are relaxed and accept that falling short of perfection is okay. The kids will survive and so will you, and everyone is likely to be happier.
view Li's profile
Yep. All the alpha moms I know are slowly driving themselves insane trying to control all aspects of parenting and have everything be just so. Just the obsessive online researching alone would be enough to kill ya.
view soozle's profile
Alpha mom must be code for "easily influenced to buy something outrageousely expensive to show off how great a parent they are" to marketers. I've had enough of the alpha moms.
view pelicolina's profile
I'm due in 3 weeks and want to befriend all of the posters here! I can't stand the alpha mom, and am desperately seeking normal NYC types to bond with outside the racket of the perfectionist mom and the industry that is driving them.
view jess!'s profile