For most Italians, the family is very important. At the heart of every Italian family is the mother. Italian Mammas are well-known for being nurturing and are often very protective of their children, even when their children reach adulthood. Anyone who has grown up in an Italian household will have heard their mother spouting the same clichés repeatedly while they were growing up. Recognize any of these phrases?
1. Wrap Yourself Up or You Will Catch a Cold
Italian Mammas are obsessed with keeping their children warm, even in the warmest months. You can recognize the Italian-American children in the summer months as they are the ones dressed for a trip to the Antarctic.
2. Have You Eaten?
Food is very important to many Italian families and the women see it as their role to make sure the whole family is fed well. If you are Italian, this is something you will hear your mom say often, even if you are an adult who has left home and is only returning for a visit. You are in a no-win situation no matter what your response. If you say that you haven’t eaten, an Italian Mamma will not only chastise you for not looking after yourself; she will also then proceed to make you every Italian dish she knows. Say yes, you will be subjected to further feeding until your mom is satisfied, even if force-feeding is involved. When it comes to food, they really are obsessed!
3. Are You Sick? You Look Awful
Italian mothers love nothing more than to mollycoddle their children. They also like to comment on how their children look. They manage to combine the two in such a way that they somehow come across as blunt and rude while also managing to appear maternal and caring. How do they get away with it?
4. Why Have You Not Found a Nice Boy/ Girl Yet?
Italian Mammas cannot help themselves when it comes to their children’s relationships. Their instinct is to interfere and interrogate their offspring at any given opportunity. To them, their child is a prize that anybody would be lucky to have, so if their son or daughter is still single, they simply cannot understand why. To Italian women, finding love and creating a family is high on the list of life’s priorities.
5. You Can Do Better
When you finally do find a person you want to settle down with, they will never be good enough for your mother. On meeting your chosen partner, they are most likely to say, “Well, they’re nice enough, but you can do better” or something along those lines. There really is no pleasing them.
Sources
- Main Image: Ana Francisconi from Pexels
