10 Things All Working Mums Can Relate To

Sometimes when you’re a working mum you can feel like the busiest, most stressed out mum in the world.

Rushing from nursery drop off or the school run to get to work, getting distracted at work by kid-related thoughts and not seeing as much of your kids as you want to can take its toll  – but you’re definitely not the only one going through it all.

I promise you that at some point, all mums that work have felt exactly the same way as you do right now. I know I certainly have.

Here are 10 things that all working mums can relate to…

Rushing around

By the time you sit down at work, you’ve probably spent at least 2 hours rushing around like a headless chicken. Getting kids dressed and out of the door on time, sitting in traffic trying to get to school before they close the gates, and then rushing through more traffic to work equals one stressed mama!

Going over homework in the car on the way to school

With work and after school clubs there’s a distinct lack of time for homework. This year our school has spelling tests on a Friday so most Friday mornings we’re doing some last minute practice in the car on the way to school. Other days we’re practising sums or reciting times tables.

Doing errands in your lunch hour

Whether it’s running across town to get a last minute fancy dress costume or making phone calls to the school, your lunch breaks aren’t very often spent eating a sandwich in peace. Long gone are the lunch hours when you have time to go shopping or meet up with friends.

Begging your boss for time off

You think you’ve got everything sorted with childcare and after-school activities, then the school or nursery give you a week’s notice that there’s going to be a class assembly or play that requires your attendance, or there’s a staff training day that you’ve forgotten about.

Relying on other mums for photo updates

When you can’t get the time off for these last-minute appointments you scour your Facebook timeline hoping that one of the other mums has got your child in one of their photos.

Mum guilt

There’s always mum guilt whether it’s because you’re putting your child in daycare while you work, or because you can’t pick your child up from school yourself. After a while, you get used to it, but the guilt is always at the back of your mind.

Finding random things in your work handbag

Toys, kid’s snacks, baby wipes, dummies, plasters, rubbish – even your work bag isn’t your own space. Many a time have I rooted through my bag in a meeting looking for a pen but only able to find random Kinder Egg toys or Disney Princess hair clips.

Having to make childcare plans in the school holidays

My daughter gets 13 weeks off school a year. My husband and I get 4 weeks each, so even if we didn’t spend any time off together we’re still way short. Months before the summer holidays or half term you need to start begging family and friends to take your child on certain days, or trying to find a holiday club that doesn’t charge the earth.

Not getting to know any of the other school mums

When you don’t do the school pick up every day you don’t get chatting to any of the other mums. This means that on the days when you do pick your child up from school you’re a complete social outcast, and birthday parties are very awkward when you’re the only mum nobody knows.

Spending the majority of your salary on childcare

If you have a child at nursery you’re probably spending most of your hard worked earnings on childcare. Sometimes the nursery invoices pretty much cancel out your wages which makes you wonder why you’re bothering with work at all. It doesn’t always stop when your child moves from nursery to school either – with breakfast club and after-school club you can still get quite a hefty bill every month.

So, can you identify with any of these? Being a working mum ain’t easy, is it!