Quiz: How to Tell if You’re a Good Mom

Have you ever wondered if you’re a good mom? If you’re making the right parenting choices? Look no further than this comprehensive quiz, covering a wide array of parenting topics. But be honest! Now’s not the time to pick the response you think is considered the popular choice.

Choose the answer that best represents your parenting style. Then tally your totals to determine how good of a mom you really are. Don’t forget the compare with your friends!

Sleeping:

A. Co-sleep in the “family bed” (possibly with more than one child)
B. You have your room, and I have mine – baby in nursery from day one
C. Bassinet for six months, then transition to the crib

Sleep training:

A. Cry it out – extinction method
B. Just can’t do it – pick up baby and rock to sleep
C. Periodic checks with soothing pats on the back, as many times as needed

Infant feeding:

A. “Breast is best” – exclusively breast fed
B. Bottle fed breast milk
C. Formula fed – by choice or not

School:

A. Public school
B. Private school
C. Home school

Discipline:

A. A spank on the bum occasionally
B. Time out in a designated spot
C. Calm conversation about rules and consequences

Bedtimes:

A. Very early – before 7 p.m.
B. Average – 8:00/9:00
C. Late – after 10 p.m.

Food:

A. Solely organic, or homemade
B. A balance – a Poptart paired with an apple
C. Most meals come from a box

Work/family balance:

A. Stay at home parent
B. Work full time
C. Work part time

Childcare:

A. Daycare center with 15 kids
B. Only family members have ever watched my kid(s) at my house
C. Retired lady at her home with two other kids

Diapers:

A. Disposable – convenience trumps sustainability at this time (sorry Mother Earth)
B. Reusable – cloth is the way to go
C. My baby is always naked

Travel:

A. What travel? I’ve never have been away from children
B. Whether business or personal, I’m away more than with my children
C. Take a trip with friends or spouse once a year

Extracurriculars:

A. One sport/activity per year
B. I’m never home because I’m always at some sort of game or practice
C. None – not a fan of organized sports

Birth:

A. Hospital
B. Birthing center
C. At home

Medication at birth:

A. Au naturel
B. Just a little to take the edge off
C. Epidural all the way – gimme the drugs

Clothes:

A. The newest and trendiest, always put together
B. Hand-me-downs from friends or family, that may have stains or holes
C. Child dresses him/herself, often resulting in mismatched ensembles

TV:

A. Not before age two
B. My kid can name every show on PBS and Nick Jr.
C. One favorite show, no more than once per day

Potty training:

A. Elimination Communication
B. Start promptly at two years old
C. Ha! My four-year-old is still in diapers

Parental control:

A. Free range
B. Helicopter
C. Somewhere in between

Soothers:

A. Pacifier from day one
B. Pacifier only after breast feeding is established
C. No binkies, my baby learned to self-soothe

Size of family:

A. Just one – the world’s already over populated
B. Two is perfect and enough
C. Three or more – I love large families

RESULTS:

MOSTLY As:

Congratulations – You’re a good mom! Maybe you do everything “by the book,” or maybe you lean toward unconventional. Perhaps you follow what the “experts” say, or perhaps you create your own set of rules. You might fall in line with what your mommy friends do, or you might be the odd mommy out from time to time. Maybe your parenting style is a combination and spans the range of what’s considered the norm. What’s for certain? You do what is best for you and your child(ren). Even if your approach might not be the popular method, you follow your gut and are typically right. You love your child(ren). You do your best every day. Some days are better than others, and some days you might give yourself a higher grade on the mommy report card. But regardless of all these choices and outside judgements, remember one thing: you’re a good mom.

MOSTLY Bs:

Guess what? You’re a good mom too! Maybe you do everything “by the book,” or maybe you lean toward unconventional. Perhaps you follow what the “experts” say, or perhaps you create your own set of rules. You might fall in line with what your mommy friends do, or you might be the odd mommy out from time to time. Maybe your parenting style is a combination and spans the range of what’s considered the norm. What’s for certain? You do what is best for you and your child(ren). Even if your approach might not be the popular method, you follow your gut and are typically right. You love your child(ren). You do your best every day. Some days are better than others, and some days you might give yourself a higher grade on the mommy report card. But regardless of all these choices and outside judgements, remember one thing: you’re a good mom.

MOSTLY Cs:

Surprise, surprise…you’re a good mom! Maybe you do everything “by the book,” or maybe you lean toward unconventional. Perhaps you follow what the “experts” say, or perhaps you create your own set of rules. You might fall in line with what your mommy friends do, or you might be the odd mommy out from time to time. Maybe your parenting style is a combination and spans the range of what’s considered the norm. What’s for certain? You do what is best for you and your child(ren). Even if your approach might not be the popular method, you follow your gut and are typically right. You love your child(ren). You do your best every day. Some days are better than others, and some days you might give yourself a higher grade on the mommy report card. But regardless of all these choices and outside judgements, remember one thing: you’re a good mom.

Jennifer Craven considers herself a good mom, despite the fact that she purposely waits for her kids to go to bed before eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s simply because she doesn’t want to share.  Mother to two young daughters, Jennifer spends her days attempting to balance that delicate role many women know far too well: working mom.  When she’s not picking Cheerios off the floor, she works full time in the fashion merchandising department at Mercyhurst University, where she teaches fashion journalism, among several other courses.