Motherhood is a taxing and often thankless job, especially for those who balance a career and childrearing.
One millennial mom found herself at the end of her rope and questioned how the generations before her were able to do it all, seemingly without complaint.
She questioned how working boomer moms had the energy to balance their jobs and raising kids.
“Am I the only mom that’s actually confused at how her own mom was able to do this?” the mom, @_phijiasked.
“How were you able to wake up, get yourself dressed, get me ready, take me to daycare or school, go to work, work a full shift, get off, pick me up, take me home, make sure I was fed, make sure I was bathed, put me to bed, wake up and do it all again?”
As a “tired working mom,” she doesn’t understand how previous parents balanced all of these responsibilities.
“I’m tired,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I can do this. Like, how am I supposed to have the energy to do all of this? Where do I find the patience? Where do you find time to clean, cook, keep the house together, (and have) time for yourself?”
“I’m tired,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I can do this. Like, how am I supposed to have the energy to do all of this? Where do I find the patience? Where do you find time to clean, cook, keep the house together, (and have) time for yourself?”
“Where is the balance?” she questioned. “I’m not seeing it. There (are) not enough hours in a day to do all this.”
This mom is not alone in feeling an overwhelming amount of stress and pressure as a mom.
A 2022 poll of 2,028 millennial American mothers found that 34% admit to feeling stressed or overwhelmed at least five days a week.
The same survey found that most of these moms — seven in ten — hide this stress from their family, bearing it all on their own.
Unfortunately, this likely contributes to why so many moms feel alone in their stress levels.
Boomer moms likely felt the same levels of stress, but a multitude of factors prevented them from opening up about it.
It’s only over the last several years that mothers have felt comfortable opening up about their mental state and the pressures they face to keep up appearances. With the introduction of social media, it’s now become less of a taboo topic for moms to discuss.
“There was no balance,” one commenter wrote. “We just kept moving ’cause we knew what had to be done.”
“I don’t think they had time for themselves,” another user theorized. “I think they just kept moving and never even stopped to think about how exhausted or miserable they were.”
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Boomer moms were also living in a different time, with very different standards.
It was normal to open the door and usher their kids out to play in the street until the streetlights came on. They weren’t supervising their children in the same manner that millennial moms and even Gen Z moms are doing now.
Digital culture has also added more stressors for parents today.
That’s not to say that boomer moms didn’t feel burnt out, however. They probably did. But it was uncommon to discuss candidly as moms were expected to do everything themselves without complaint or help.
Thankfully, that stigma has long since been established as unsustainable. Moms today are more empowered than ever to speak up about the ugly aspects of motherhood and, hopefully, find a community to lessen the burden.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
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