A Mother’s Day Special: Aspira moms through the decades

For Aspira moms who were having children and raising them in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, there were no self-help books, no prenatal classes, no mommy bloggers, no Google Search and no wikiHow. Moms back then just leapt right in and figured it out.

So how, exactly, did they do it? We talked to 10 moms, ages 80 to 106, from Aspira Residences across Canada, and we were refreshingly surprised to learn how relaxed they were about parenting. For most of them, being a good mom wasn’t about perfection. It was about being there for their kids, allowing mothering to come naturally and if there were a few small mistakes along the way, so be it.

106-year-old Aspira mom, Ethel, describes herself as a late bloomer because she didn’t end up marrying and having her two kids until later in life. As a mom in the 50s and 60s, Ethel recalls her experience as “a bit of an experiment, with plenty of improvising and the occasional ‘well, that didn’t work’ moment.” 99-year-old Constance, who was also raising two kids in the 50s, recommends that moms “learn as they go”. Constance believes “That's the best way to become a mother.” 95-year old Ruth, who raised eight children in the 50s and 60s, had her hands and her house full of kids. But, thanks in part to her relaxed approach to parenting, she’s still going strong. “Life doesn't always work the way you want it to,” explains Ruth, “But it will always work itself out in the end.” And to those moms who feel like it may never work out, Aspira mom Helen says “You will be okay. You are not going to break, even if it feels like it.”

Moms in the 50s, 60s and 70s were shaped by post‑war hardship and monumental social change for women, fuelled largely by feminism. This gave rise to a more hands off style of mothering, which made their kids, now known as the Boomer Generation, more independent, strong self-starters and most of all, incredibly resilient.

Clara started raising her children in the mid 60s. Although many around her were full-time moms, Clara was not. She had to balance both working and being a mom. “I taught my kids to do stuff to help out,” says Clara. “And they did it because they wanted to, and that's how they were raised.” 88-year-old Patricia explains, “I was not the type of woman to have a baby in the first year of marriage, but I did. We didn't have any money, so we didn't have anything to lose.”

 With no such thing as the internet and less emphasis on material possessions, there were fewer distractions from motherhood. Aspira Resident, Roslyn, told us she loved motherhood in the 60s. “Everything was homemade”, explains Roslyn, “We never bought anything. You could focus on being a mom.”

To three remarkable decades of Aspira moms, society is so grateful for everything you’ve passed on to your children. Especially the gift of resilience, which has helped define one of the most significant and most celebrated generations of all time. Today, we are all so fortunate to have seasoned, seen-it-all moms like you who we can always turn to for good, sensible advice on raising our own children. Thank you and happy Mother’s Day, from all of us at Aspira!