Sunday is Mother's Day, and once you have gotten past the Hallmark cards and other commercial pressures of the day, there can be little doubt that it is a day worth celebrating.

That is as true in Bermuda as anywhere else, and with the growing pressure on families, it is more important than ever.

In 2000, there were 2,685 homes ? or 11 percent of all households ? headed by a single parent and of that number, 2,240 were headed by women. Households headed by two parents made up 6,392 of all households, or 26 percent of the total.

It may be a truism that mothers are key to the shaping of children's lives. But it is worth noting that there are children and teenagers in some 9,000 homes in Bermuda who are being raised and cared for by mothers. It is a weighty and difficult responsibility.

And given that women increasingly must juggle raising their children with jobs as well, there's no question that it is getting harder. And in contrast to most women's "real" jobs, few parents get much training for the most important job they will hold ? the lifelong task of raising their children.

It is tempting to say that raising children today is harder than it has ever been. It's also probably wrong. It cannot have been easy raising children in the middle of the Second World War, or during the Great Depression or during the era of slavery.

But child-rearing today, poses different challenges for which new solutions have to be found. Mothers today often hold demanding professional and managerial jobs which demand much more time than there is in a 40-hour week. And other mothers, especially single mothers, must work two or more jobs just to pay the rent and put food on the table.

It would not be fair to say who has the greater challenge; what is true is that they are likely to have less time to devote to their children. For mothers, and it is mainly mothers, who choose to stay at home to raise their children, the challenges are equally varied. Often isolated and cut off from other adults, they make financial sacrifices for the good of their children and then, if they return to work, find themselves back at the bottom of the working ladder.

But anyone reading the stories in today's Lifestyle section should see that there several themes that come through consistently.

One is that most of the children ? from Premier Alex Scott to ordinary people ? said their mothers were strict but fair, caring but naturally sceptical when their children tried to slip one over them.

All of the mothers supported their children's dreams and encouraged them to pursue their goals. All of them gave their children a sympathetic ear when necessary, but also taught them the values that they needed to be successful adults.

And all of them, to one degree or another, sacrificed something for their children. That may be the strongest message that comes through, and one that all young people should remember as they reach maturity.

Parenting is hard. It demands that you be caring and compassionate that you also set standards. It means being tough at times and it also means finding the time to listen and to communicate with children. Often it means doing the best you can, even when you wish you could do more.

Mothers do it all the time, at the same time that they are succeeding in their own lives. So this weekend, take some time to say thank you to the women who raised you. They did a pretty good job, didn't they?