Being a mother and being a cop aren’t things that you normally hear about. A lot of women feel that the risk on the job is just too great to even give it a chance. If they are police officers first and then become pregnant, many of the women will retire from the force or take a desk job instead.
However, for those bad-ass women who can take on the role as a nurturing mother as well as a law enforcement officer, then respect is due.
Here are seven ways that being a police officer can make you an awesome mom.
1. You’re able to pick out the bad seeds really early. As a police officer, you’re pretty familiar with vetting someone to see if they are a suspect, if they know anything about a crime, or whether or not someone is being truthful or dishonest. When you add those skills to keeping your child away from the wrong crowd or a sketchy date. A regular parent might wish they could do a deep background check on the people your children hang out with, police officers can—sort of.
2. You will protect your children no matter what. Mothers are protective to begin with, but as a police officer, there is even more of a need to make sure your child is safe. On the other hand, while it may be your instinct to protect your child, you also know that the law is the law and if your child broke it, they have to take responsibility for their actions.
3. Savvy surveillance techniques are fair game, both at home and on the job. When you’re on a stake out, you’ve got your binoculars out and you’re watching the suspect like a hawk without being seen. As a parent, you’re doing something similar, except you can get much more intel than you’d think—checking in on a phone call, browsing through their search history, even looking through their belongings while you put laundry away. You may not want to admit you do these things, but all parents do. Cops tend to be better at covering the trails.
4. You can practice detective skills at home. It can be annoying to your kids and other family members, but your detective skills aren’t something that you can just stop doing. You can use your interrogation and interview tactics on your kids and their friends. You’re acute sense of hearing can help you overhear conversations through the wall, you know how to use GPS phone trackers, and you’ve got help from your friends on the force to keep your kids in line when you aren’t around.
5. Always be safe, at home and on the job! Safety should be everyone’s main priority, especially if you have firearms and small children. Because you are an officer and your children will probably see you with your firearms, you will want to teach your kids about gun safety. If you’re comfortable with the idea and your children are interested, you can even take them to a fire range to help the understand the power they have in their hands and the damage it could do.
6. Use your self-defense training to teach the children how to protect themselves. There is no one more adept to teaching your children about self-defense than you! A lot of police officer parents will teach their children custody and control maneuvers to help them protect themselves should they get into a scuffle with a peer. Just make sure you tell your kids that the moves you’re teaching them should only be used to defend yourself and not to terrorize kids on the playground.
7. Be a positive influence on your kids and a role model of courage and strength. By being a positive role model for your children, you’re giving them the tools to overcome peer pressure that they may face when they are with their peers. By teaching your kids to have a thick skin and always be polite and kind, you’re showing them those qualities make someone likeable.