Press release
Mother’s Day 2022: Meet the care home residents sharing their timeless advice for new mums
“Stress less”, “don’t forget to have fun”, and “take each day as it comes” are some of the timeless pieces of advice elderly residents at Edmund House Bupa Care Home in Scunthorpe have shared for this year’s Mother’s Day (Sunday 27th March).
We all know that motherhood doesn’t come with a ‘how to’ manual. It’s understandable to feel lots of emotions during the first few months of parenthood. To help new mums and mums-to-be out there, Bupa’s residents have shared their honest wisdom and heart-warming tips, so you don’t have to figure everything out on your own.
Mother’s Day advice – care home residents share their advice for new mums:
- Remember to play with your children and read to them.
- Time passes very quickly. Enjoy every moment.
- Look after the children and keep young and beautiful – and enjoy life.
- Don’t take notice of what everyone says. Think about what your opinion is.
- Don’t get stressed - take each day as it comes.
- If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Wait until you have the money.
- Look after yourself.
- Do for others as you would like others to do for you.
- Do what comes naturally.
- Keep out of any debt.
- Before you buy something, think if you actually need it.
With a combined age of 996, many things have changed during the lifetimes of these 11 pensioners, however their advice shows that a lot of the joys and pressures of motherhood are still very similar in 2022 – with their advice timelessly relatable.
A strong theme across the advice from all residents is to cherish what you have so you can enjoy life more. 96-year-old Gloria Sikora encourages new mothers to make the most of every day of motherhood, reminding us that ‘time passes very quickly’ and to ‘enjoy every moment.’ Mary Fowler, 91, reminds us of the importance of being kind, cheering on mothers to ‘do for others as you would like others to do for you.’
Three rules to live by for new mums – according to residents at Edmund House Care Home:
1. Don’t forget to have fun
Residents Barbara Bowers (86) and Gwendoline Dent (89) celebrate the importance of making motherhood fun, reminding new mothers to ‘play and read with your children’, and to simply enjoy life to ‘keep young and beautiful.’
2. Stress less
Four of the residents advocate the merits of taking care of your body and mind, with 92-year-old Margaret Mackenzie encouraging new mums to ‘take each day as it comes’, whilst 88-year-old Mary Bassindale reminds new mums simply to make sure you ‘look after yourself’.
Lucy Coggan, 95, shares the importance of retaining your sense of self, rallying mums-to-be to ‘not take notice of what everyone says’ – something especially important to take note of in a world of social media. Likewise, Mary Wright, 95, reminds mothers to reduce any pressure they may be putting on themselves and to ‘do what comes naturally’.
3. Watch the pennies
In a time where comparison culture is easier than ever before, three of the residents encourage new mums to think ahead and to cherish what they have before spending to excess.
Olga Woods, 92, keeps her advice simple: ‘Keep out of debt’. Whilst Marguerite Bradley, 91, champions mothers to think about their spending habits: ‘If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Wait until you have the money’. 81-year-old Pauline Pursglove echoes similar sentiments, recommending that new mums pause before they buy something, and to only do so ‘if you actually need it.’
Kathryn Lazenby, Activities Coordinator at Edmund House Care Home, worked with the residents to collect their Mother’s Day advice and even wrote a poem with them to mark the occasion. Kathryn commented: “Motherhood is a unique, rewarding, challenging and special experience – something we hope to have reflected in the poem we wrote together.
The advice from our residents reminds us – as with many things – that it’s often the simplest things in life that hold the most value. I always love hearing advice from our residents, and their insights for Mother’s Day show that some advice is truly timeless. I’ll certainly be focussing on the value of having fun, remembering to make time for myself and taking each day as it comes!
On Mother’s Day, we’ll be giving all our ladies a little bag of chocolates, and our dining tables will be decorated with vases of daffodils.”
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