We’re proud Venmo moms who don’t have time for our kids’ to-do lists

Are you a PTA mom – or a Venmo mom?

Busy NYC moms who know time is money are throwing dollars at the hassles that come with intensive school holiday planning and volunteering.

Despite the risk of raised eyebrows and steely judgment from teachers and other parents, they choose to help fundraise rather than spend time working at their children’s schools.

Dikla Goren-Dekel, 43, is raising four children — 13, 10, 8, and 4 — in New York City and can’t imagine adding PTA meetings and four rounds of classroom parties to her seemingly endless to-do list .

That’s why she proudly calls herself a Venmo mom.

“I would never be a classroom parent. I’ll put you alone. Just tell me how much,” the content creator told The Post.

“I’m already overwhelmed with life, with so many things, children’s activities and my schedule,” she confessed. “It’s really hard to keep up with everything. It’s really crazy.”

One day earlier in December, the Brooklyn mom received an early morning reminder to dress her preschool daughter in an ugly sweater for the day’s holiday activities.

“No one will even talk about the sweater,” Goren-Dekel shouted. “It’s just too much.”

The mother of four receives so many messages about her children’s school activities that she created a separate email account for them – and can barely keep up with WhatsApp notifications.

“It’s always something,” she said. “It’s non-stop.”

With a quartet of young children, Goren-Dekel and her husband, Noam, attend what events they can, but they’re more likely to write a check and get on with their already busy schedules.

And they dismiss any negativity about their propensity to exchange money for attending events.

“I don’t really care what people think at this point. I know I’m doing my best,” Goren-Dekel said.

But for other mothers, doing their best means completely rearranging their lives to be more present in their children’s education.

Maria Colaco, 46, quit her job and became a self-employed digital marketer when she realized that working for someone else would lead her to become a Venmo mom, which she didn’t want.

“It’s important for me to be involved because then I will get a say in the story of my child’s upbringing. I get to experience some really cool things and be a part of how they experience it,” the mother of three told The Post.

For example, because Colaco was always present at her children’s school parties, she noticed they were being served a brand of juice with “bad” ingredients and too much sugar, so she raised the issue at a board meeting .

Although her request to stop serving juice was denied, she was proud to be an active voice in her children’s school community.

Alyce Chan, a comedian and mother of two elementary school students in Westchester, believes that being involved in her children’s school gives them an edge.

“I think when you make a connection [with the teachers] and you see them often, the teachers know you want to be there and be involved,” the 40-year-old comedian admitted to The Post. “I selfishly think they could support my child a little more.”

Research has shown that parental involvement in a child’s education is strongly linked to their success—but that doesn’t mean they have to be elected to the PTA.

“While parents should be involved in their children’s education, how they choose to do so varies based on their philosophies and programs—whether as a Venmo parent, class mom, or PTA president,” Michele Borba, an educational psychologist and author of “Thrivers”. : The surprising reasons why some kids struggle and others excel,” he told The Post.

That’s why some moms have fought the inherent stigma and slowly accepted their positions as just Venmo moms.

Brianne Manz, 43, has three children ages 16, 13 and 11 who attend schools in the Battery Park area.

Since she’s self-employed, the Venmo mom feels a “guilt” every time she’s no longer involved in her kids’ school events — but she’s gotten more comfortable with each child.

“It’s a little less stress you feel with the third child versus the first child. You say, ‘I’ve been there. I have done this before. You know, it’s going to be good,” she told The Post.

When Manz finally attended a field trip with her fifth-grade daughter, she was reminded again that her children are fine without personal support.

“She was kind of, ‘Why are you here?'” she said with a laugh.

Alleviating any embarrassment is knowing that her children don’t mind if she decides to send some money — instead of her physical self.

“I think, at the end of the day, parents put pressure on themselves,” Manz said.

But sometimes children miss their mothers and fathers.

Jaclyn Alesia, 42, feels it breaks her heart when her children ask why she doesn’t attend most of their events – but she has her own class to be in.

The Long Island teacher, whose wife is also a teacher, chooses one event a year to appear on and sends money to support the rest.

“We’re busy,” the mother of three told The Post.

“We are doing what we have to do to survive in this world. We’re just doing what we have to do to stay afloat,” she said, adding that it’s “extremely difficult to manage.”

But prioritizing her career and having a life outside of her family helps her “see herself as a person” beyond being a mother.

So she better send some money to the class mom – and then call it a day.

“How a mother chooses to be involved in her children’s education is always a personal choice that should be based on what she thinks is best for her children and herself,” Borba said. There is truth in saying: “No one knows their children better than you.”