The excitement of summer quickly comes when your knee deep in the school year. Waiting to be able to sleep in or not having to wake early to get the kiddos plus yourself out the door does summersaults in your mind. Moreover, the cold from the winter plus the rain from the spring has us screaming to just LET US OUTSIDE!!!! The day comes. At first, all is well the kiddos are happy to be home and you get one or two days of relaxation. And then BOREDOM STRIKES plus the stress to keep the kiddos busy, fed and babysat kicks right in. And the relaxation turns into the stress of motherhood during summer time MIND MELD.
A frequent question…how do you do it? And, majority of the time I reply with something witty like ” I just throw the old in with the new”! Making other moms laugh at what they probably think is a full-time horror story called “TOO MANY KIDS”. Especially during the summer it can be a madhouse and in turn, increase my stress level. American moms often battle mom stress and how a mother feels. Battling mental health as a working mom part-time or not we fell it heavier during summer.
Is it time to eat yet?
I mean why do kids literally want to eat the WHOLE LIVE LONG DAY? Not saying that I don’t want to feed you, but I am pretty sure that I just fed you! I am pretty sure that if I fill my fridge with snacks I would have to cook as the kiddos don’t want real food anyway. Continually screaming that they are hungry but when its time for a full three courses, wasting all of it. Filling up on all the pop tarts, fruit snacks, and cookies. And, now all I hear is we are out of food. Which really means we are out of all grab-n-go snacks and the older girls don’t want to put effort into fueling their bodies! While the littles continue to waste more food then they eat.
Furthering the stress of motherhood during summer time narrative. How to feed kids that will be home for the summer isn’t just stressful for getting groceries (which instcart and doordash help with) it’s also a budget breaker. As we have our older girls who consume massives amounts of food (I mean how do they stay so small) and the littles who waste and want. GRRRRR!
Little #momhack: let the kiddos be involved in making breakfast lunch and dinner. It makes them understand that requesting something inst magic and you have to work for it. While keeping them occupied for a sec.
Whos going to watch the kids?
This stressor is also a budget breaker as somebodies gotta watch the kids right? Or do you make the hard decisions if you have older kiddos to let them stay at home and tend to themselves While checking in of course. There have been many technological advances to “watch” the kids while away. This weighs heavy on lost of moms minds and is probably the biggest stress of motherhood during the summer months. If you have school-age children and you’re not used to incurring the cost of childcare.
This can definitely send a mom into a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions bringing on the stress. Simply dropping them off in the morning is no longer an option.
#momhack: Planning ahead helps to ensure that you’re ready for the summertime babysitting mellow drama. and I mean EARLY: like as soon as the kids go back to school early! Overnight camps, day camps, friends and family reach out early mama!
BOREDOM!
Cue the music…Dun dun dahhhhhh!!! The age-old whine and cry of “mom I’m bored”. Seriously whoever came up with that saying… should play with all the kids of the world. How am I suppose to keep the kids entertained for 8-12 weeks? They fully expect to be THOROUGHLY entertained for the FULL summer! This is my number one on the stress of motherhood during the summer list. When not entrained, you can also cue fighting, whining and climbing all over me!
#momhacks: Check these sites for busy crafts and summer learning.
- SUMMER CRAFTS by All Things MAMMA
- SUMMER LEARNING by Jinxy Kids
- SUMMER ACTIVITIES by Crayons & Cravings
- If you’re a INDY native you can check out theCityMoms blog for TONS of local things to do.
- If you’re a Detroit native you can check out the Detroit Moms Blog for guidance.
MY TRUE THOUGHTS On The Stress Of Motherhood.
Honestly, mamas, somedays motherhood is a horror story written by Stephan King and produced by Jordan Peele. And I want to Get Out! I know, it’s a hard thing to say but some days getting out is all I think about in the summer. Like pushing the laundry baskets on the floor, letting the dishes overflow and not cooking dinner for anyone kinda way. Full-on mommy temper tantrum, that gets me noticed! So my kiddos think I went cray cray for the summer. HA! JOKING. (Make sure you take a momment for yourself in the summer you deservce he sun too)
If you add in having a baby and toddler at the same time call it a war on my mental psyche. It’s a tough road to becoming your version of the best mom. On the journey to finding maternal footing, during the summer somebody will cry, get hurt or even upset! Remember that its ok for kiddos, to just stay in the house and do NOTHING for a couple of days during summer. Dont stress yourself out trying to plan every minute. It’s pretty much what we did growing up. I’ll be praying for us!
purposely
The ALL Purpose Woman
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