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 - 7:18pm

Oh, I'm sure you're right that some kids get it better than others. But I also think that some parents start working on that earlier than others, which could be part of it too.

I think you have to make the consequences something the child can understand at that age. Certainly they don't understand the dangers of a lot of things. For instance, they may not be able to understand that they could get hurt running into traffic, but they may be able to understand that if they don't hold mommy's hand when they cross the street, they'll have to ride in the stroller. Stuff like that.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 7:37pm

Okay well you have way more patients then I do.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2004
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 7:50pm
Actually, that's exactly how I got my son to hold my hand while crossing the street. I told him that if he didn't, then I would have to carry him or put him in the stroller. And he thinks he is such a big boy - that there was no way he was being held to cross the street. So now he holds my hand without me even asking. He even says "mommy be careful"
Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 7:57pm
I just look at it differently. I think you have to let kids make bad choices sometimes so they can learn from the consequences. I would prefer to impose a consequence for not getting into the car seat rather than forcing the issue. And I have no idea how strong my kids were as two-year-olds, as I never had to wrestle either of them into their car seats. They are 9.5 and almost 7, so we are way past that stage.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 8:02pm
Okay, well, it's not intuitive to me that a mother would see WOH, for any number of hours, incompatible to the extent of sacrifice with enjoying her children's young years.

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Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 8:04pm

Why can't you understand that giving up something that is valuable to her--spending time with her son during the time she would otherwise be at work--is a sacrifice to her? You're making this a lot more complicated than it is.

And if you want to rehash previous posts or argue about how you were misquoted or misinterpreted, you're going to have to do that with somebody else.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 8:07pm
I'm sure he did cringe. When I saw that back in the seventies I did more than cringe. But he's come a long, long way, and his aim is much improved, too ;-)
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 8:10pm

I love having two.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 8:11pm
Laziness and so on can be ugly, but IMO not nearly as ugly as loutish personal habits. I don't think you'd have the "kind of relationship" you seem to have with your dh if he belched, farted, snored, picked his nose, and scratched himself where no one should have to witness another person scratching himself, right in front of you!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 06-16-2006 - 8:13pm
Let's check the inventory...he belches, farts and snores...no nose picking though...

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