E23: Mom Life or No Thanks? Is it Okay to Not Love Being a Mom?

Do you like being a mother? Erin and Sarah talk about the idea of not always enjoying motherhood. Some moms have stronger feelings than others, but this episode helps moms get unschooled about the darkness of motherhood and how moms can control the outside expectations vs. their own reality. “The reason we've created this podcast is so moms don't feel alone and, and here, this is something that is very lonely if we don’t address it.” - Erin

0:01:32

What does a clinical psychologist say about the feeling of not liking being a mother? The problem is moms don’t talk about these feelings enough…even with other moms who have all been there before.

0:05:53

Talking about the challenges of motherhood can help moms accept that you’re not a bad mom and feel more secure in their roles. Not every moment is perfect with kids around, but we see it through every day, even when it’s hard.

0:08:14

Parenting is long and thankless, but the “perfect mom” displayed on social media doesn’t encourage us to be our own family.

0:11:02

Cultural norms for motherhood today define what moms “think” how they “should be,” regardless of education or career growth the mom made before having kids. Expectations of being a “happy Mom” or a “good parent” are different than reality.

0:14:10

Stress affects every person in different ways. The same stressor might even affect you differently next week than it did today. Not every mom relates to the same stresses of parenthood, but we have to support each other in the general idea of stress.

Resources shared in the show:

“I Do Not Like Being a Mother” Psychology Today article by Carrie Barron, MD https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-creativity-cure/201307/i-do-not-being-mother-0

I love my kids, but I don’t love parenting by Liz Kreiger on Today’s Parent: https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/i-love-my-kids-but-i-dont-like-parenting-and-i-know-im-not-alone/

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Who we are:

Erin and Sarah are moms who enjoy each other’s unique cul-de-sac “mom perspectives” so much they want to share their thoughtful and sassy ponderings with other moms around the world. Collectively they are moms to 4 school-aged kids, and world travelers in their journeys as United States Marine Corps spouses. Erin is a homeschooling mama of three munchkins that loves running (slower than most people walk), traveling, and can recite the alphabet backwards while opening a bottle of wine. Sarah is a curious minded mama of one small human, enjoys writing, takes forever to read a book for leisure, and can order McDonald's at a Japanese and German drive through.

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