“Being a Full-Time Mom Often Leaves Me Feeling Lonely and Trapped.” Things We Can Do for Mothers to Make Them Happier

Family & kids
4 years ago

Kids bring you a lot of love and are a big responsibility at the same time. Many mothers make the decision to postpone their careers in order to take care of their children full-time. And while this could be a great decision in order to raise a child in the best possible way, there are some cons too. Stay-at-home mothers very often experience depression and anger, a report says.

We at Bright Side have a lot of respect for moms who dedicate all their time to their children, and we decided to collect some advice on how to make these moms happier.

Show appreciation for what she does.

Imagine a job that lasts 24 hours a day, with a high level of stress and responsibility, that you are not paid for. Salary.com calculated that the median annual income of a full-time mother in the USA should be $178,201. Of course, a mother gets a whole lotta love and emotions from her child during the day, but this should not be her only source of appreciation.

Let her know that you understand the efforts she makes every single day while caring for a child. Give her little (or big, why not!) presents more often, do anything so she feels really appreciated. This will give her so much more motivation and a sense of accomplishment.

Get in touch with her more often.

Another important factor that can contribute to the depression of a stay-at-home mom is isolation. Kids are very cute indeed, however, spending the whole day having conversations with only them seems to not be enough for a person with her own interests. But days without any other interaction are not rare for mothers.

If you are the partner, family member, or friend of a full-time mother, try to call, send a message, or come visit her as often as you can. And talk about different interesting things, not just the children and her duties. This will obviously cheer her up and make her day more interesting.

Take her out more often.

Coping with the fact that your life consists of sitting at home most of the time is definitely very frustrating. You don’t see people and you don’t have any social life. You feel excluded from a society you used to be part of. Of course, this is inevitable when a woman decides to take care of her child herself, however, this doesn’t mean she should not leave the home.

Ask someone to babysit and take her out whenever possible. This doesn’t have to be a dinner in a fancy restaurant, but it could just be a simple walk around the neighborhood, a walk to the movies, or a visit to see friends. This will distract her from her hard work and make her state of mind much better.

Offer to help, even with small tasks.

It goes without saying that you should help her with babysitting whenever you have time, but don’t forget about other duties and chores that she has to do during the day. Wake her up with a cup of coffee or breakfast in bed, cook a super delicious dinner, or clean the house. If you are her friend or sister — you could give her a manicure or do her hair.

Believe it or not, any help will make her life a little easier, because her every day routine is not all fun and games. She does everything to raise her child in the best possible way.

Let her have some “me-time.”

Everyone needs time on their own, however, a full-time mother often totally forgets about herself. She may even not realize that she spends all day dedicated to her child. A survey that we previously covered, revealed that parents only have about 30 minutes left for themselves per day

Soon or later, this can lead to low self-esteem. And this is very sad, because how can a person who doesn’t love herself feel like a good mother or a good wife? That’s why it’s very important to make some room for her to be by herself as much as possible. “Me-time” will give her time for self-reflection and rest, which is so important for our mental health and happiness.

Talk to her about her feelings.

Talking about our problems helps us feel much better. And this is even more true for full-time mothers, because they don’t have many other ways to release their negative emotions. Ask her more often about the way she feels, her mood, and her state of mind. First of all, this could help you and her to detect the early symptoms of postpartum depression, which is a very serious condition.

In addition, it will help her to talk out all of her worries so she can start the day with new energy and a clear mind.

What are your challenges when it comes to being a “full-time” mother? How do your loved ones help you handle them? Share your answers with us!

Preview photo credit curlyinthecity / Reddit

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