Motherhood Quote by Ruby Wax

Ruby Wax takes the culturally polished phrase "working mother" and roughs it up with a comic confession: the real scarcity isn’t time, it’s permission. The first line sets a familiar, almost respectable complaint about a "social life" - then she pivots to the currency mothers are actually judged on: the kids. Socializing is framed as indulgence; child outcomes are the only acceptable metric. That’s the trap, and she lands it with a grin.

The joke’s engine is moral accounting. "My kids are so well adjusted" sounds like a humblebrag until Wax detonates it with "There isn't a brat bone in their body". She’s parodying the anxious parenting fantasy that you can raise emotionally impeccable children if you just sacrifice enough of yourself. The punchline, "so I haven't done anything that bad", exposes the punitive subtext in modern motherhood: you’re always on trial, always one misstep away from being declared selfish, negligent, or damaged goods.

Wax’s voice matters here. As a comedian known for talking candidly about mental health and social pressure, she uses self-deprecation as a scalpel. She’s not just joking about parenting logistics; she’s mocking the idea that mothers must present evidence of good character in the form of well-behaved children. The laughter comes from recognition: the absurdity of linking a woman’s virtue to whether her kids are "brats", and the exhaustion of living inside that audit.