Filipinos are more connected to their mothers than in U.S. and Australia, new study reveals

According to a recent poll, more than 93 percent of Filipinos speak to their mother at least monthly, and as a result, they know more about their mother's favorite things than respondents in the United States and Australia.

As Mother's Day approaches, WorldRemit, a major digital payments firm, interviewed 3,000 consumers in the Philippines, Australia, and the United States to better understand their connections with their mother figures. According to the findings, the vast majority of Filipinos are more linked to their moms than the survey average.

People reported knowing their mother pretty well, including her favorite pastime (91 percent), method to treat herself (92 percent), flower (77 percent), singer (79 percent), and movie (77 percent) since 77 percent visit their mother on a monthly basis.

When the epidemic struck, people's parenting styles shifted rapidly. Women reported spending an average of 30+ hours per week only on child care during the first year of the pandemic, which was exacerbated by the continued COVID-19 limitations. 

Beyond knowing mom’s favorites, WorldRemit asked the participants the last time they acted on this knowledge across a number of categories. 

●      49% of Filipinos have sent their mother a gift in the last month, similar to the 46% of Americans who reported doing so, but 8% more than Australian respondents (41%)

●      70% have participated in their mom’s favorite hobby in the past month, compared to 31% (Australia) and 39% (United States) in the same period

●      69% have given or sent mom’s favorite treat in the past month, compared to 37% of Australians and 49% of Americans

●      40% have sent their mother flowers in the past month, a significant difference compared to 26% of Americans and 17% of Australians in the same time period. 

●      68% have sat down with their mother to listen to her favorite musician in the last month. Interestingly, almost half of Filipinos (47%) have done this in the past week compared to 27% of Americans and 11% of Australians in the same time period. 

“In the Philippines, Mother’s Day is an appropriate time to show our appreciation to the hard work, dedication and care our moms constantly provide,” said Earl Melivo, Country Director (Philippines). “At WorldRemit, we know people can’t always be in the same place as their loved ones, and we work to make it easy for those living overseas to return the care and safely send money back home with ease.” 

Mothers work tirelessly to provide a healthy, happy upbringing to their children - no matter what age they are. They know all the favorites, the fears, and more. While we’d never be able to return the care to mum in a way that truly shows how much we appreciate what they do for us, WorldRemit encourages everyone to make sure mum is taken care of this holiday season.

To learn more about WorldRemit, or to send your mum living overseas a gift via a digital remittance, visit www.worldremit.com.

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General population residents of the USA, Australia, and the Philippines, aged 18-65 voluntarily responded to a 15-question survey about their maternal figures between the 7th and 8th April 2022. The survey took place on the Attest platform and resulted in 3,000 responses from people with maternal figures that were alive (those who responded that their maternal figure was not alive were exited from the survey to create a viable participant base). No quotas (e.g. gender, age) were set for this survey so the results are not intended to be nationally representative.