Are working moms stretched too thin?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Are working moms stretched too thin?
1078
Tue, 06-13-2006 - 2:45pm

Do you think a mom who works full-time and has kids is stretched too thin?

I was working full-time up till November of 2005. Then I decided that it was all too much. I was exhausted and found that when I did get to spend time with my little guy (he is now 2 1/2) I was very impatient with him because I was soo tired. Also the stress of work often overflowed into my personal life (both with ds and dh).

Now that I have been home for over 6 months, I am finally starting to be more patient and am enjoying my son instead of rushing him along. If he want to take 20 minutes to get into the car - ok, no problem.

So - do you think that trying to juggle work, kids, marriage and all the stresses that come with those things is too much? (I did)

Maybe when my son is older - then I will go back to work and it might be easier because he will be more self-sufficient? Who knows? All I know is that for now, I am enjoying being a SAHM and am glad for the time I get to devote to my son and the lower stress levels (that I believe were very unhealthy for me).

josee

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Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:13pm

There are other options: call someone to get the groceries for you, or put the groceries in the cooler at the store and wait for the child to calm down.

Honestly, it doesn't bother me if somebody else thinks it's fine to force a screaming child into a car seat. It's just that for me, that would really be a last resort. Generally, I try not to force my kids to do what I want them to do. I'd rather teach them to make good choices on their own. And again, if a child of mine did that at the store, there would be a consequence. He wouldn't be going to the store with me for awhile. My kids usually liked going to the store. If it went well, they got a cookie and a ride on the mechanical horse.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:13pm

I don't remember, but let me guess...fraternity boy?

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:13pm
Me neither.
Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:14pm
He doesn't need to remember it. You tell him when he asks to go to the park, which probably isn't going to be 6 months later.
Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:16pm
I don't know; I've never tried it.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2005
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:16pm

Glad I could help! I was spending the week at a conference which finished up yesterday.

"Are you feeling lucky after that to show me where all of those understanding posts directed my way are?"

Can I please beg off this time, pretty please? I'm beat this week. I'll see if I can hunt a bit tomorrow. I did read most of the posts and it honestly seemed to me that there was a lot of misunderstanding going on.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:16pm

That makes a lot of sense...


PumpkinAngel

Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:19pm
Why would you wait 6 weeks to remind him? The next time he wants to go to the park, you explain why it's not going to happen. And my 2-yr-olds never had any trouble remembering why they didn't get to do something for awhile. I think your "beyond cruel" comment is just silly.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:19pm

To me it's more important to be there for the kind of firsts that are planned.

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 4:20pm
Forcibly buckling them into a car seat is actually easier than forcibly carrying them (assuming major back-arching and struggling in both cases). I've done both and once we got to the carseat part (preceded by the carrying part) it got easier for me.

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