5 Common Pitfalls of Working Moms

5 Common Pitfalls of Working Moms

Being a mom who works outside the home is hard. Really hard. Not only on me, but my kids, too. It’s hard waking them up at 6:30 to get out of the door by no later than 7:00 a.m. It’s hard when you hear them ask why they have to go to daycare. Again. Or when they just want to stay home and snuggle with you. Or that you’re missing another field trip, field day, or other parental activity at school. Again. What they don’t understand is that it is REALLY hard on me, too. I want to do all of those things, too! Don’t get me wrong; I like going to my job. I have really flexible co-workers (which allows me to rearrange my schedule to attend functions that are the most important to my family) and a company that offers great benefits, priding itself on being a family-focused business. But there are days (especially the ones that follow sleepless nights) that it would be so nice to not have to go to work.

Here are the Top 5 reasons I wish I wasn’t a working mom:

  1. Sick Kids. Kids get sick a lot; especially those in daycare. Thankfully, most of the sickies hit between 0-2 years old – so to all you working mamas with little ones: hang in there! It does get better! But it’s after they’ve passed the contagious stage that I feel the worst. When I know they could use just one more day to stay home and rest but I have no valid excuse to keep them home. So I send them to school/daycare, and off  I go to work, wishing I could have just one more day to snuggle.
  2. Vacation Days. Most of my vacation time is used to cover school holidays/in-service days or to attend school related functions. My mom commented as we got older that all her time off went to days when she had to stay home with us. I get it now. Just let me use ONE day of my vacation to sit at home and drink some wine! {Haha. Keep dreaming!}
  3. Housework. All my chores are crammed into evenings and weekends. Enough said.
  4. Meal Prep. Dinners and family time are also crammed into the evenings. So as much as I would love to cook grand meals for my family, there just isn’t time. I try my best to get a home cooked meal (or leftovers of home cooked meals) 4-5 nights a week and the other two days we go out or raid the pantry and freezer for chicken nuggets, mac and cheese or ramen.
  5. Activities. While I’m thankful I only have one child in activities right now, I know my life is going to get twice as crazy in the near future. We spend at least 2 nights a week and 1 day during the weekend on sports/activities. As the kids get older events will occur more often during working hours, so I’ll have to finagle my time to make it to those (additional) activities. It’s a never-ending cycle!

What are some common pitfalls YOU experience as a working mom?

Kendra Fernandez
Kendra lives in Derby with her husband Leonard and her two boys- Leo and Jacoby. She works in downtown Wichita but spends most of the rest of her waking hours wrangling two crazy boys. You will more than likely find them at a game or practice. Besides spending time with her family Kendra loves to read and watch Game of Thrones, HGTV marathons and the Royals! She is also very active in PTO at her sons' school and is always trying to find ways to interact with other parents.