Every mom has experienced this guilt that they’re doing something right or not doing enough throughout their journey with motherhood. This feeling is referred to as mom guilt. Mom guilt comes in many forms but the overall feeling is that of anxiety and fear.
It’s hard to not question your decisions as a parent as you navigate the difficult season of motherhood. From birth until adulthood you’re in charge of these little human beings’ lives. You may wonder if saying no or saying yes was the right thing.
You may feel guilty about working outside of the home. You may feel guilty about working from home. You may feel guilty that you didn’t attend a special event for your kid. There are so many things we can list that most moms can relate to.
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Rather than focusing on why and how moms experience this guilt, we wanted to share some tips to help you free yourself of mom guilt. There’s no reason why you need to make yourself feel bad when you’re merely doing the best you know how!
Forgive Yourself
Whatever the reason is for experiencing mom guilt, the first idea to free yourself is to forgive. You’re an imperfect human being. You will raise your voice unnecessarily, say something incorrectly, or hurt your child’s feelings throughout the time you’re raising them.
You’ll need to start forgiving yourself each time you make a mistake. Decide to stop beating yourself up over a mistake made. Whether this was a good or bad response or decision, chances are you’re going to make more mistakes.
You’re an imperfect human being like every other person out there. Allow yourself some space and the freedom to make mistakes without overanalyzing your behavior in the future.
Revisit Your Values
Perhaps your mom guilt is coming from a more realistic place, such as your intuition telling you that something has to change. You may have drifted away from your values during motherhood and need to revisit them.
Pause your feelings and thoughts for a moment. Evaluate why you might be feeling mom guilt or why you may be snappy at your kids more often. This could be a result of not living your best life. Perhaps you need to take more “me time” breaks or place family time as a top priority in your schedule.
You’ll know best if you’ve fallen off the tracks when it comes to your values and beliefs as a mom. Adjusting your schedule and admitting that you need to make changes will help curb mom guilt.
Unfollow People on Social Media
Lastly, if your mom guilt is coming from a place where you’re comparing yourself to others then perhaps it’s time to unfollow some people on social media. Social media has opened the door to a whole new set of feelings surrounding that fear of missing out complex.
If you’re feeling guilty because you’re comparing yourself to other mothers then please just unfollow them or unfriend them. It’s not healthy to compare your lifestyle with others. We’re all different and most moms only share the highlight reel of their life online!
These are just a few ways to help you reduce mom built so that you can enjoy motherhood more often! We hope that our list of tips helps inspire you to adjust your schedule, unfollow people you’re comparing yourself to, and learn to forgive yourself because you’re just an imperfect human being doing the best you can.