Why Did I Want to Be a Mother?

Most books tell us about how to be a good mother to our children, which is sometimes needed. There are few books that tell us about what it is like to be part of the community of mothers, about the challenges that we face and that give us something to reflect upon. I am concerned about mothers’ well-being, which depends to a great extent on the recognition and support that they receive. If our children’s well-being depends on their mothers, then we would all be better off if we helped mothers rather than blaming them. While I was researching for my doctorate, I often asked the question, why do we spend so much money on studying mother-child interactions instead of spending it to support mothers? There is a working theory, which states that if we want to help children we need to help their parents. As it is so often the mothers who bear the major part of the responsibility and the daily involvement of bringing up children, I have chosen to write about and for them.