What Mom Has Time For Support?

You’re a busy mom. You have a million things physically and mentally happening at one time. Many of these things are tasks for the house and your family that only seem to increase the more kids you have and the older they get. Maybe you work and that’s adding to your never-ending list of items to accomplish. Maybe you have a partner whose schedule doesn’t quite align with yours so teaming up feels impossible. There are only so many precious hours in the day and most of them are accounted for. This feeling can lead to moms believing that it’s easier to go it alone than to ask for help. 

When you say it out loud it might not make sense: “I am so overwhelmed by things to do that I don’t have the time to ask for help.” But here’s the logic behind it. Sometimes asking for help can feel like an extra task on an already long list. Then it might require coordination of schedules and timing. Adding extra people to your schedule can feel messy and like it’s going to require more effort than it’s worth. Moms in the midst of burnout might feel all of these things and not realize how reaching out for help is actually more beneficial for them. 

Oftentimes we make assumptions about what other people are capable of doing without asking them first. We might think that asking for help watching your kids is too much for a grandparent, but we need to remember they were once parents themselves! We may assume another busy mom doesn’t have the time to help with school pick up but if they are already there, it’s likely no trouble at all. Removing assumptions about others can help you to have an open mind about asking for help when you need it. 

Next, being honest about the challenges you’re facing will give you a clear view into how to best ask for help. Just because you’ve always done something a certain way doesn’t mean it still serves you now. Taking a step back and really thinking about what is causing your stress can help you navigate possible solutions and see where others can step in to help you. 

Finally, the feeling that involving others will take too much time might be accurate, but the reality is that it’s just doing the work upfront once. If your school has a complicated pick up line, for example, explaining the process to someone else might feel daunting. But you’ll only likely have to explain it one time and then they can help endless amounts of time. The work in the beginning will have so many long term benefits for you and your family. 

So the answer to the question “what mom has time for support” is every mom. You deserve to feel loved and supported and allow people to help you when you need it. It may take a little work upfront but I can guarantee you that you’ll feel so much better with great support people helping you out.