hands-on mom

[Saki6]

Marcia Gay Harden Opens Up About Her Mother's Battle with Alzheimer's Disease

To help raise awareness, the Oscar winner is joining forces with the organization Notes to Remember and Biogen to spread the word about the early signs of the disease

people.com

“My mom and I are two peas in a pod. We’re very, very similar. She, I’m proud to say, is an artist. She was a great traveler, and she was a very hands-on mom like me,” says Harden, a mother of three.

What does "hands-on mom" mean?

 

[probus]

Please don't abuse the Report button. It is to be used only to flag inappropriate posts. Also bear in mind that all our teachers are volunteers who answer in their spare time and who are scattered around the world in many time zones. Someone will probably get to your question soon.

 

[emsr2d2]

What did you find when you looked up "hands-on" in several reputable dictionaries?

 

[Saki6]

Does a hands-on mom mean a mom who calls the shots?

hands-on
:directly involved in making decisions about the way in which things should be done:
- As a manager, she was always very hands-on.
(Cambridge Dictionary)

hands-on
a hands-on person is involved in something and does not let other people do all the work and make all the decisions
(Macmillan Dictionary)

hands-on
:doing something yourself rather than just talking about it or telling other people to do it
- She intends to continue being very much a hands-on manager.
(Longman Business Dictionary)

 

[probus]

No.

It is insufficient to consult a dictionary unless you make an effort to understand the definitions you find there.

 

[Saki6]

Does a hands-on mom mean a mom who is directly involved in making decisions about the way in which things should be done?

 

[probus]

Yes.

 

[Tarheel]

It's hard for me to understand who would not be a hands-on mom. That is, pretty much all of them make the important decisions for their kids.

Frankly, it doesn't seem to be a phrase worth learning.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's hard for me to understand who would not be a hands-on mom. That is, pretty much all of them make the important decisions for their kids.

Frankly, it doesn't seem to be a phrase worth learning.

I disagree. It doesn't just apply to mothers. You can use "hands-on" in a lot of contexts. Also, some mothers, and fathers of course, aren't so hands-on with their kids. Some do the minimum possible and some do almost nothing, amounting to neglect.

 

[Tarheel]

I disagree. It doesn't just apply to mothers. You can use "hands-on" in a lot of contexts. Also, some mothers, and fathers of course, aren't so hands-on with their kids. Some do the minimum possible and some do almost nothing, amounting to neglect.

I was specifically talking about "hands-on mom". (I think we can all agree that there are some people who shouldn''t be parents. However, we don't call them " hands-off' parents. We call them abusive or neglectful. Or immature.)

I think that in most cases if a person is not "hsnds-on" they are simply not doing their job properly.

What's the opposite of hands-on?

 

[probus]

Hands-off?

 

[emsr2d2]

However, we don't call them "hands-off' parents.

What's the opposite of hands-on?

Hands-off?

 

[Peedeebee]

I think that the phrase means doing (the stuff/ the work) yourself, not simply calling the shots and expecting someone else to do the work. Using an example definition based on a manager when trying to explain the role of a mother is pehaps not very helpful.
In some ways the whole point of being a manager would be to not be hands-on.
You could perhaps imagine the contrast with the mother in "Mary Poppins"- the film, who was very much not hands-on. That's why she needed Mary Poppins.
But let's not get into any contrast between 1910 wealthy family values and modern day working parents!

 

[jutfrank]

It's hard for me to understand who would not be a hands-on mom.

I agree. I've never met a mum in my life who isn't 'hands-on'! I don't know what this woman could mean. As Peedeebee suggests above, perhaps it's meant to be contrasted with a mum who employs a nanny.

 

[Rover_KE]

Not every adjective has an opposite.

 

[emsr2d2]

I agree. I've never met a mum in my life who isn't 'hands-on'!

I was thinking more of the sort of parent who ends up having their child taken away by social services. However, I think there are other ways of being "hands-off" - perhaps a parent who takes no real interest in their child's eduction, never attends their school plays or sports games, leaves them to amuse themselves at home rather than really engaging with them, and things like that.

 

[SoothingDave]

Parents who leave the raising of the children to the help are not hands on.

 

[5jj]

I've never met a mum in my life who isn't 'hands-on'!

As a teacher in 11-16/18 schools for many years, I met several mothers who were far from hands-on.

I also didn't meet quite a few. Non-hands-on mothers are not renowned for contact with teachers.

 

[Glizdka]

Would negligent be a good antonym of hand-on in this context?

 

[SoothingDave]

No.