Jezebel reports on a new book by clinical psychologist Stephen Poulter called The Mother Factor: How Your Mother's Emotional Legacy Impacts Your Life. The gist is that your bond with your mom can have a big ol' influence on your emotional development, ability to form meaningful relationships, and so on. (Do the dads do anything? Cuz we should share the dysfunctional love!) Anyhow, according to the book, there are five kinds of mothers. This immediately begs the question: Which mother are you? 

The five types are:

• The Perfectionist Mother — whose family must look perfect in every way
• The Unpredictable Mother--whose ups and downs can create lifelong anxiety and depression in her son or daughter
• The "Me First" Mother — whose children come second or last
• The "Best Friend" Mother — who's now in vogue but can wreak havoc
• The Complete Mother--who provides guidance and shows compassion to her child

Um, I don't know which one I am, though I suppose that's the point, because the ways I'm screwing up my kid should be a mystery to me. I do know I'm not the Perfectionist, and my kid doesn't like me enough for me to be the Best Friend. See, I think of myself more as the "Well-Intentioned But Frequently Harried Mom Whose Child May Later Resent Her Blogging" which I guess makes me the "Me First" mom. Only thing is I made many of my big ol' life decisions based on what was best for my kid, not me, because I'm so noble like that. Oh well. Just let me know when they add an "Irritable Bitch" mom category.