Wednesday, July 31, 2013

When SAHMs Need a Break

This article is insightful and gives a taste of what it is like to try to explain how it is to be home and on-call 24/7 for your children and family.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-king/stay-at-home-parent_b_2558642.html

The comments are telling and really tiresome. It IS different being a working mom and a SAHM. I would guess some work-at-home parents could relate more with the article than the outside-the-home parents. It is the writer's perspective, not a generalized "everyone must feel this way" article even though she does say this is what SAHM (maybe I should say SAHParent) mean when we say we need a break.

One commenter said "if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" which illustrates the need for 'mama' to take care of herself.

Do I agree with everything she says? No, sometimes staring in space/zoning out for a few minutes was a break. Our family is a big believer in when you are doing things you love to do, it isn't work (though it still is employment).

Yes you are a parent even when you aren't in the home for 9 or so hours but it is different when you are 'at your paid employment' and not at home with the kids during those hours. It would be similar if you worked with children and never left your place of employment. Just ask anyone who spends all day with other people's children! It is exhausting, physically and mentally to work with children and at the end of the day, no matter how much fun you had that day, it is nice to 'have a break' from it.

SAHM/P moms don't leave after 7 or 12 hours. They are there and on call for every hour of every day for years on end. Even as an empty nester I'm still a mom, but the daily pressure isn't there as it is for SAHM/P.

Soooo, if you know or are a SAHM/P, give them a break. That break can be whatever you two decide on is a break, there are no fixed ideas, just kindness to someone who needs to recharge their mental batteries.

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