Being a mom is a hard gig. Not only are you carrying around a baby inside of you for nine months, you also have to go through labor and delivery, and then take on the full-time job of parenting . While parenting, in itself, takes lot of time and effort, many moms also go back to work to provide for their families. Being a working mom is not so easy. In fact, it’s really hard.
Society oftentimes has expectations for moms, especially working moms.
Society has expectations for working moms that are sometimes insane and unrealistic. One mom, Sarah Buckley Friedberg, decided to call everyone out on their crap and stand up for working moms everyone in a now-viral Facebook post.
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In it, she details how society sets working moms up for failure.
Friedberg has a 1-year-old, a 3-year-old, a 6-year-old, and works full-time as a microbiology manager at a medical device company.
The mom told Good Morning America that her rant on Facebook came from a place where she felt that there were disconnects between mothers and fathers, especially when both of them work.
She claims that her husband, who is also a doctor, gets “the easy side” of parenting, and the majority of it falls onto her.
She shared how society treats all moms in her post.
“Go back to work 6-8 weeks after having the baby. The baby that you spent 9-10 months growing inside of your body. Go back to work before you have finished healing or have had time to bond with your baby.
Keep your mind on work, and not your tiny helpless baby that is being watched and cared for by someone other than you,” she wrote.
Society also expects moms to kill it at work, too.
“Make sure to break the glass ceiling and excel at your job- you can do anything a man can do! It is your job to show society this! Show the world that women can do it all. Rise to the top of your career.
Also breastfeed for at least a year. So take 2-3 pumping breaks a day at work, but don’t let it throw you off your game or let you lose your focus,” she said.
Moms are also expected to lose the baby weight and keep a perfect home.
She explained how moms are told they have to work hard to lose the baby weight almost immediately, despite balancing parenting and work.
Not to mention, they are told to keep a “Pinterest-worthy” home that is decorated and totally clean and spotless.
Moms are also expected to do it “all.”
Taking the kids to doctor’s appointments, volunteering at their school, showing up for all the events and shows—it takes time out of your schedule for work.
Not to mention, you only get some vacation days, which get maxed out once you are doing so much for the kids day-to-day.
Romance? What’s that.
She continues by saying society also pushes for spouses to still “date” and have romance when they barely have time for themselves at all.
Moms are also told to have a “hobby” and do “self-care” all of the time, with the “lack of time” they already have. Because they should “always try to make themselves a priority.”
Not to mention, all of the people commenting and chiming in.
“Get off your phone, turn off the TV, and enjoy your life. Enjoy your kids. THESE ARE THE GOOD TIMES make sure to love every minute of life because before you know it all of this will be in the past,” she added, talking about how people are constantly judging moms who are busy and who aren’t “present.”
Many people online resonated with this post.
Many parents online commenting saying they, too, feel the societal pressures on themselves, working or even stay-at-home moms.
It’s true, society does put unrealistic expectations on new moms. And, it’s time we take a step back and stop the nonsense.
What do you think? Let us know!
