She is not a bad mother, but:
- She is a very dominant person. She would like to control enterely the whole family. But she cant, because everyone in that family is so hiperactive and problematic.
- Her husband doesnt help her a lot when trying to control the kids. Hal can be as a kid himself; so she oftenly has to take care of FIVE boys! (Fortunately, Francis is not home anymore)
- The family is always in economic trouble. That's always stressing, right?
- She lacks any kind of friendships with other women. Her mother is a monster, and she cant talk to other woman without yelling at her. You know, women are oftenly more sociable than men. Lois has spend many years without any kind of relationship with other women. Maybe she needs a friend.
You can see Lois is not bad at all; in a lot of episodes we see her cheering up her sons, giving them good advices, you know, worrying about them.
And remember she was raised by Ida...
PD- Jane Kaczmarek says Lois is an excelent mother. She says moms should show their kids who is in charge...