Greg’s Mom Character Analysis in Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Greg’s mom (who is also Roderick and Manny’s mom) is a supportive parent who encourages Greg to try a range of activities. However, Greg doesn’t always see the value in his mother’s attempts to make him a more well-rounded person, and he resents that she makes him to try out for the school play. Greg’s mom has strong morals, which she attempts to impress upon her boys. For instance, she makes her eldest son, Roderick, apologize for owning a magazine that is “degrading” to women. Likewise, when Greg comes to her to ask for advice, she encourages him to “do the right thing,” even if it might entail sacrifices on his part. Greg’s mom is known for taking a long time to devise punishments for her boys. Her levelheaded, fair parenting style differs from that of her husband, Greg’s dad, who punishes his children impulsively.

Greg’s Mom Quotes in Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid quotes below are all either spoken by Greg’s Mom or refer to Greg’s Mom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Abrams edition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid published in 2007.

Mom made the chainsaw guy show us where the exit was, and that was the end of our haunted house experience right there. I guess it was a little embarrassing when Mom did that, but I’m willing to let it go this one time.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 53

Explanation and Analysis:

I did my singing tryouts with a bunch of other boys whose moms made them come, too. I tried to sing as quietly as possible, but of course I got singled out, anyway. I have no idea what a “soprano” is, but from the way some of the girls were giggling, I knew it wasn’t a good thing.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 97-98

Explanation and Analysis:

When Mom and Dad saw my wish list that year, they got in a big fight over it. Dad said there was no way he was getting me a doll’s house, but Mom said it was healthy for me to “experiment” with whatever kind of toys I wanted to play with.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 117

Explanation and Analysis:

Greg’s Mom Character Timeline in Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The timeline below shows where the character Greg’s Mom appears in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Tuesday. Greg explains that the book he is writing at the moment is definitely not a “diary,” since he’s afraid his classmates would make fun of him... (full context)

...to convince the teachers that he was a poor reader, but he suspects that his mom got in touch with the principal. Greg’s mom thinks that he is smart but “doesn’t... (full context)

...the sprinkler so his dad will think he’s been exercising, but this backfires when his mom tells him to take a shower. (full context)

...out of the house anyway while Rodrick was practicing with his heavy metal band. Their mom supports Rodrick’s music, but when she tried to dance to one of Rodrick’s CDs, Rodrick... (full context)

...reflects that at least his dad tends to be straightforward in his punishments, whereas his mom tends to wait a while before deciding what his punishment be—and then just when he... (full context)

Monday. Greg is pleased to see that Rodrick is also in trouble with their mom. One of Rodrick’s heavy metal magazines had a photo of a woman in a bikini,... (full context)

...of October, and Greg is already looking forward to Halloween. He loves trick-or-treating, although his mom says he’s too old for it. Greg’s dad likes Halloween too, since he hides in... (full context)

Halloween. Greg is still stumped about his costume, but his mom brings him a pirate costume at the last minute. Rowley’s mom, meanwhile, has made so... (full context)

...the cops, Greg and Rowley flee to Greg’s grandmother’s house, pursued by the teenagers. Greg’s mom calls to say they have to be home, so they run home, this time narrowly... (full context)

...football season in the spring). He asks his parents for a weight set, but Greg’s mom stipulates that he has to prove he can stick to an exercise regimen by doing... (full context)

Thursday and Friday. Greg’s mom makes Greg sign up for the school play, since she thinks trying different activities will... (full context)

...and the play has to end, since she can’t see without them. That night, Greg’s mom throws the bouquet of flowers she had bought for him in the trash. The next... (full context)

...he really wanted a Barbie Dream House as a fort for his toy soldiers. Greg’s mom was supportive, but Greg’s dad was uncomfortable and asked Greg to choose toys that were... (full context)

Thursday and Christmas. Greg’s mom takes Greg to the Giving Tree, a gift donation program for the homeless. She donates... (full context)

...finds that it contains a red woolen sweater intended for the homeless man, since Greg’s mom accidentally swapped their gifts and gave the video game to the homeless man instead. Greg... (full context)

...small black ball of thread was a spider. Manny ate the “spider” and told Greg’s mom, who was furious even though Greg tried to explain that the thread wasn’t a real... (full context)

Thursday. Greg’s mom tells Greg that he has to write thank-you notes before he can go over to... (full context)

...come clean, but he doesn’t want to lose his hot chocolate privileges. That night, Greg’s mom can tell that something is bothering him. She comes up to his room and tells... (full context)

...school. When Greg gets home, he says that he did “the right thing,” and his mom takes him out for ice cream as a reward. (full context)

...is horrified to find out the next day that the substitute teacher is actually his mom, who likes to get involved at the school. (full context)