Scrapped knees, good night kisses, rides to the mall and soccer practice, a shoulder to cry on and an ear for hard times—it’s no secret that we go to our moms for a lot of things, but do we go to them for an opinion on who we date?
With Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday, the online dating site Zoosk took the opportunity to look into how important our mom’s opinion really is when it comes to who we’re dating. After surveying its members, they found that most online daters really do think mom knows best.
67% of women and 63% of men say it’s important to get their mom’s approval on who they’re dating.
However, even though mom’s approval is important, we usually like to wait a little bit before telling her we’re seeing someone new. Only 20% of people said they tell their mom about a new relationship before they tell their friends or father.
Some more fun facts from the survey:
16% of people said they would break up with someone if their mom didn’t like.
So you may want to play it safe and be on your very best behavior around your main squeeze’s mommy. Not only is her approval important, but it could be vitally important.
50% of daters want specific feedback on who we’re dating.
Though we crave our mother’s approval, actually hearing her specific feedback on who we’re dating is a whole other story. 50% of men and 51% of women said they like to get their mom’s thoughts on who they’re dating. That’s half of us who would rather not know.
73% of people say their moms can sense when someone makes them happy.
Maybe the same way you know about a good melon, 74% of men and 71% of women agree that moms just somehow know when we’re with the right one.
Moms want their kids to date someone with similar values.
48% of men and 46% of women said their moms think shared values are the most important thing to look for in a potential life partner.
Moms want different things for their sons vs. their daughters.
After finding someone with similar values, what moms thought was the most important thing for their sons to look for vs. their daughters was very different. For daughters, moms tended to value finding someone with a good/stable job who was financially well-off. For sons, moms valued a partner with polite/good manners and who comes from a good family.
| Sons Should Date Someone With: | Daughters Should Date Someone With: |
| 1. Similar values 48% | 1. Similar values 46% |
| 2. Polite/good manners 21% | 2. Has a good/stable job 16% |
| 3. Comes from a good family 12% | 3. Polite/good manners 13% |
| 4. A sense of humor 8% | 4. Financially well-off/rich 8% |
| 5. Physical attractiveness 4% | 5. A sense of humor 7% |
| 6. Has a good/stable job 4% | 6. Comes from a good family 7% |
| 7. Financially well-off/rich 3% | 7. Physical attractiveness 2% |
But oh the advice they gave… For a little extra Mother’s Day fun, Zoosk also asked people to share the best and worst dating advice that they’ve ever received from their moms. From classics like Don’t get a girl pregnant and Find someone who makes you laugh to more creative momisms like Be yourself and let the man talk and If you marry for money, you’ll earn every penny there are some great gems that remind us of just how much our moms care about us. (Even if they don’t always say the exactly right thing.)
Check out the whole list to enjoy a good chuckle, and this Mother’s Day let your mom know how much you care about her too!
