On this 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day, Public Opinion Strategies is proud to present the findings from the latest chapter of our Walmart Moms Research series.
Together with Margie Omero from Purple Strategies, we teamed up with Parade Magazine to conduct a special Mother’s Day survey of Walmart Moms – a unique and critical group of women who have proven to be a decisive “swing” voting bloc in electoral politics. However, instead of searching for clues about their political attitudes, we wanted to hear moms talk more personally about themselves – about their hopes, dreams, challenges, and regrets.
As we found, today’s moms have a lot on their plate. With most moms bearing the brunt of the household (68%) and parenting (56%) duties, their time stretched thin. When asked to characterize the role they play in their family, most moms consider themselves either the CEO (26%) or “family coach” (19%).
Not only do these moms face the pressure of busy schedules, but they also feel the financial burdens of a lingering economy. Overall over half of moms say they are “living on the financial edge” (17%) or “making it, but worried about what the next day may bring” (41%). They say “not having enough money to make sure their kids have what they need” (35%) is their top source of stress, and if they had the choice to do it over again, most moms say they should have “learned more about money management at an earlier age” (71%).
However, Walmart Moms are resilient – despite facing challenging circumstances, they remain positive and confident. A strong majority of moms (65%) believe they will achieve the American Dream, and most feel they are either as good (40%) or better (38%) of a mom than their own mothers.
At the end of the day, these women persevere because they are moms. Their foremost priority, worry, and joy are their kids.
Details from our research, including several touching interviews can be seen in this weekend’s copy of Parade Magazine or on the Parade Magazine website.
