Shout out to all the parents!
Have you ever felt that gut-wrenching feeling of mom/dad guilt?
You know, the feeling of shame for not raising your kids the right way. Not spending enough time with them. Not being enough as a parent.
It’s so easy to compare yourself to the mom who makes a 5 course supper every night while your kids are lucky to get frozen chicken nuggets, again. It’s so easy to compare yourself to the mom who volunteers coaching your daughter’s softball team. To the mom who remembers to pack your kids book report, due that day.
You feel guilty for having the daycare provider “raise your children.” You feel shame for working full time and missing games/activities during work hours. You feel remorse for wanting to spend the time and money to advance your education. You feel bad the constant stress and charting at home limit the time and energy you can dedicate to your family. You constantly critique and criticize your parenting techniques.
I didn’t even know mom guilt existed until my oldest was born. Shortly after, I started noticing this strange feeling of guilt for being a working mom. I used to be able to drop everything and pick up extra shifts on the floor. After having kids, I felt guilty for even working 36 hours. When I went back to school for my masters degree, I felt guilty the extra time would take away from my family. I felt guilty taking time for myself to exercise, visit friends, and spend time alone. It took me some time to realize those feelings and work on managing them.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have mom guilt from time to time. I realize my kids are young and I want to soak up as much time as possible before they’re old and gone.
But, I’ve realized a few things. It’s Ok to be your own person. It’s ok to work full time to support your family. It’s ok to want to go back to school. To implement time for self-care. To spend time on a new hobby.
It’s OK to be a mom AND a nurse practitioner.
Give yourself permission to be the kind of parent YOU want to be.
For time management and charting tips, check out The Nurse Practitioner Charting School– The one stop for all documentation resources created specifically for nurse practitioners. Learn more at www.npchartingschool.com
**Full disclosure, this blog post may include affiliate links. I do receive a commission if any of the affiliate programs/services/supplies are purchased. This is at no extra cost to you but does allow me to continue to provide content as The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner! Thank you!
**Full disclosure, this blog post may include affiliate links. I do receive a commission if any of the affiliate programs/services/supplies are purchased. This is at no extra cost to you but does allow me to continue to provide content as The Burned-out Nurse Practitioner! Thank you!
