Mom Goes Viral After Sharing How Much She Misses Her Toddler On Weekdays, Strikes A Nerve With Other Working Parents

Family is the most important thing in the world for many people, and they would love to spend more time with their loved ones. However, putting theory into practice can be very difficult. Especially for working parents who are overloaded with responsibilities.

Balancing work and family life can be an utter nightmare. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day. Many parents realize this. But it’s a topic that doesn’t get enough attention in real life and online. Working mom @edvcatedx recently went viral on Twitter when she shared how much she hates that she’s unable to spend enough time with her child during the weekdays.

Her heartfelt post instantly resonated with a ton of other parents, who also shared their frustrations. You’ll find some of their most powerful comments and insights as you scroll down.

Bored Panda got in touch with @edvcatedx, and she was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. The working mom said that the amount of attention that her post got didn't surprise her. "I think every working parent can relate at some level with the tweet. It is a juggling act and the fear of not spending enough time with your children is real," she told us. Read on for our full interview.

More info: Twitter | TikTok

Mom @edvcatedx point out a very important part of being a working parent: that they're 'on call,' all the time. This puts them under a huge amount of pressure.

"Working parents need several hours in the morning to get themselves ready for work and littles ready for daycare/school. Then they’re at school and the working parent is 'on call.' The daycare or school could call at any moment because a child is sick and then the parent is frantic figuring out who can pick them up, who is going to take care of them on top of being cognizant of where you are with tasks at work, passing them off to coworkers if need be, and asking your boss to leave," she explained to Bored Panda all the little nuances that parents have to keep in mind. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

"Assuming the working parent works 8-5 and the child goes through the day at school normally, the parent picks up the child and races home to start dinner. They eat between 6:30-7:30. it’s bath time and bed time for my toddler after that. Even if the child was older, you would have homework between dinner and bath time. 3-4 hours with your children in the evenings is just not enough."

Bored Panda was curious about what an ideal work/family balance might look like. "Ideally, I would work for 6 hours a day," @edvcatedx said that it would be wonderful to start the workday at 8 in the morning and then finish everything in the afternoon. "I would pick him up, play with him for a couple hours, start dinner at 5, eat by 6:30, bath time and bed time at 7:30."

The mom noted that workings parents constantly have to deal with the fear of missing out on fun opportunities to spend time with their kids. "For example, it snowed yesterday. This morning while we were getting in the car, I thought about wanting to play in the snow after work… but it’ll be dark by the time we get home."

The mom also had some advice for new parents who might be feeling a tad overwhelmed by everything. "My advice would be to take one task at a time, live in the moment," she shared. "Do your best and reach out for help even if you think it’s for the smallest things. Parenting is the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do. Life would be so much easier if you ask for help once in the while."

According to a pinned tweet by @edvcatedx, she is currently 30 years old. She has been on Twitter since November 2013, meaning that she’s been on the social media platform for a third of her life. @edvcatedx has been married for almost 3 years and she has a 16-month-old son. Her posts are incredibly relatable.

At the time of writing, the mom’s post had 56.2K views. But the real impact was getting all the other parents of Twitter to open up about their own work/life struggles. It can be easy to forget that we’re not alone in our problems and that there are massive support networks out there—we just need to know where to look.

When you start thinking about all of the things you need to do throughout the week, life can start to feel incredibly overwhelming. Not only do you have to work, but you also have to carve out enough time and energy to have meaningful, quality interactions with your nearest and dearest: your children, your partner, your parents, siblings, distant relatives, and friends.

That’s on top of basic maintenance like doing household chores, cooking, and shopping for food. Oh, and don’t forget to maintain a healthy diet, get enough movement, sleep 7 to 8 hours each night, stay hydrated, spend time on your hobbies and side hustles, while practicing mindfulness throughout the day, and squeezing in a couple of meditation sessions somewhere in there.

In short, there are a lot of expectations of what people living in 2023 should be doing. And some parents, especially on social media, would like you to believe that they’re doing all of it. But don’t believe the hype: nobody’s perfect. You won’t find time for everything you’d like to, so you’ll be forced to prioritize.

What you prioritize will depend on your values. Many of us understand that spending quality time with our kids is more important than whatever we do at the office. At the same time, quite a few parents will focus on providing financial stability instead of scaling back to have a larger portion of the day free.

Most of us know what we should prioritize in life. But unless we actively work on changing what we do throughout the week, things will stay the same: we’ll be exhausted and frustrated. It’s far easier to crash on the couch after a long day at work and vegetate in front of the TV. However, there’s a real danger that you could alienate your partner and children this way.

Bored Panda recently covered how parents who don’t spend enough time with their family may later find that they’re getting attention and love elsewhere, for example, their friends or even their pals’ parents. As such, parents have to put in the effort to show that they love, notice, and appreciate their partners and children. Something that can help with this is structuring your week to have specific times and days when you focus on your family and nothing else.

That means putting your phone away and avoiding getting distracted. It’s not enough to be present physically: you have to be present mentally and emotionally, too.

However, at the same time, keep in mind that there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ parent. You can cut yourself some slack from time to time. Remember that you’re a parent, but _not just a parent_. You need to take care of yourself as well. If you feel like you’re falling apart at the seams, ask for help, ask for someone to look after your child for a bit. Use that time to pamper yourself, focus on your other passions, or get some well-deserved rest. That way, you’ll be reenergized. Nobody wins if you’re tired and overworked all the time.