"Going to Work Is Like a Break" — Woman Commends Stay-at-Home Moms for Their Jobs
Published Oct. 9 2023, 10:40 a.m. ET
If you're a parent, then you know the struggle and unspoken battle between a working parent and one who stays at home with the kids. Because if you go to work, you may think staying home with the kids is far easier. It's only when you get a taste of being a stay-at-home mom or dad that you realize how challenging it can be. And suddenly, the grass doesn't look all that much greener.
One TikTok user @vfrieds, whose real name is Veronica, shared as much in a video. She explains that in many ways, leaving the house to go to work every day is not only preferable for her, but it's actually easier than taking care of her kid all day long. And as a parent myself, I know all too well the mental struggle of trying to figure out which of the two options is really the easiest at the end of the day.
A woman says that going to work is easier than staying at home with kids.
For some people, when they become stay-at-home parents, eventually, the shine wears off and they wonder if they might find life easier to be a working parent outside of the house. I've seen both words firsthand and I understand the way you can lose a sense of yourself as a full-time solo parent at home for most of the day during the work week.
On the other side of the coin, however, it's hard not to wonder if things might be easier as a full-time working parent if you were able to stay home in your pajamas all day, watching Bluey and taking naps with your kid.
The latter sounds like a dream, but that's because it is. Well, for the most part. There are certainly upsides to bring a stay-at-home parent, like getting that massive quality time with your child.
But there is something to be said for giving you and your kid the chance to miss each other and not be together every hour of every day. And Veronica gets that.
In her TikTok video, Veronica explains that, to her, working instead of being a stay-at-home mom is "like a break" and it's one she needs.
"Being at home all day with the toddler… that is not for the weak," she says. "I'm working 10 and 12 hour shifts and that is easier."
She admits that it might "offend someone" to take such a strong stance. But really, this is commending stay-at-home parents who know the mental load of giving yourself to one or more children at all hours.
Other moms agree that staying home with their kids can be much harder.
If you find yourself agreeing with Veronica, you definitely are not alone. People in the comments under the video understand where she is coming from and even empathize with parents who either choose to or have little choice in staying home with their kids as opposed to working outside of the home.
"No fr, [I] wanted to be a SAHM so bad, now I wanna go back to work. Staying home is harder," one mom commented under the video.
Another agreed: "Stayed home for 18 months. Now I work full-time. And yes!!!! A million times yes!"
Even parents who have experienced both sides of being a stay-at-home parent and working parent understand the struggle in getting very little time to yourself. "I used to be part-time SAHM and part-time working mom and the easy days were definitely the ones at work," someone commented.
The issue isn't not wanting to spend time with your kids. It's about needing those moments to yourself. And the sad truth is that, as a stay-at-home parent, those moments are few and far in between.
And some parents look forward to working full-time if that means they get time to themselves. There's no right or wrong way of thinking, but clearly, there are other parents who feel the same way as the creator of this TikTok video.
