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Bored by full-time motherhood

338 replies

boredtodeath · 25/05/2011 15:18

I was made redundant last year after 12 years in a very demanding job. I decided to view it as a positive thing (I got a decent redundancy package so was not in financial dire straits) and throw myself into finally having time to be with my children aged 6 and 2. The only trouble is that I am unspeakably bored. Has anyone else felt this way or am I just a horrible mother? I adore them both but I feel like the household maid rather than the Mary Poppins-esque woman I had hoped to be. Where am I going wrong? Is there anyone out there who feels the same?

OP posts:
NormanTebbit · 25/05/2011 19:52

Popbiscuit/Laineylou

I've been at home for 6 years now with my three kids and I crave any sort of stimulation - mumsnet is a case in point. If I was working it would only get a cursory look. But I use it to talk to people who are funny and ntelligent and express myself, because I do not have that outlet anywhere else.
I know it sounds awful but I had to do something and my degree exhausts me but keeps me sane. If there was a job there (I was a contract worker but there were huge redundancies at my workplace and I was replaced by a younger model), I would do it tomorrow.

Threelittleducks · 25/05/2011 19:49

Beesimo, that's rubbish!

The pure mental fucking strain of being the only person doing what you do - everyone does it differently and being faced with opposition at every fucking angle - do you have any idea what it does to people?

We have all been told all of our lives - get educated, you can do what you want, fulfill your potential.
Except what is that? Work like buggery trying to be the best we can be until, tick-tock, tick-tock - yep there it is, biology!
So children now - be the best mother, stay home, weave fucking lentils and make booties, you are so lucky, so lucky lucky lucky and don't you for one second forget it! No whining, no complaining! You are lucky! The people who can't have kids, the people who can't afford it, the people who don't have this/that...no whining!
It's only 3 years - oh wait you want a sibling for your progeny - best treat them the same - be the best mother - stimulate them, do paint, playdough, art, nature walks - get out to museums, teach them mandarin from the age of 2, french, come on, you owe it to them!
so that's what? 6 years down the line now - but did you remember to educate yourself? Socialise? Tie yourself in fucking knots? No? Well, you are boring! And shit and don't deserve to be a mother! How dare you! Hmm

You've lost yourself, you are unsure who you are when you look in the mirror - by god you've done your best and are bloody lucky to still be standing, let alone still going by the end of the day. And all you can do is stare into the weeks, months, years ahead! That is you doing your best, and you are making a sacrifice. And yeah it has some great times, of course it does. But it changes you. And not in a good way - your confidence is sapped, you spend all day with your kids, so you are the 'mother type'. And those converstaions about 'how's work etc' where all your friends compare their careers, where are you? Hiding in the fucking cforner in case someone asks you what you think you might do - because you have no idea. Because you are torn. You want to be at home with your kids and get them grown in the best way, but you would kill to be joining in and talking about how great you are. And then you get the 'when are you going back to work' crack - ha! Gets me every tim,e! Because I don't do anything, do I?

So much competition! Dare I get on a bus with my buggy? Fruit shoots? 'Cheating' because I made pizza? My children scream in the supermarket - we inconvenience others in cafe's...be suitably embarrassed, don't go out if you can't control them...
Making friends with people - it's so stressful - a friendship is borne out of years of perseverance and common goals - when you meet people at toddler groups etc, they aren't always the kind of friends you can run to when utterly depressed and scraping yourself off the ceiling - they are the ones you save your game face for, unless you are very lucky.

It's tough - so bloody hard and should not be belittled in anyway, and there is precious little actual support for women who do it. Because we are all doing our best, whatever that might be. And if all that is is having a shower in the morning just to sit in all day and try to make it through another 10 hours, then so be it.

It is a psychological strain. For a lot of women. We are under more pressure than we ever have been as a sex.

Here Beesimo, take my very first Biscuit

Because that comment you made just underlines what is wrong with women when it comes to supporting each other through any kind of situation.

JaydensYummyMummy · 25/05/2011 19:43

Boredtodeath,

Have some good old selfish "me time" otherwise you'll go really bonkers. It is very very demanding. It helps if the kids go to nursery for some hours, you'll have some time off and actually miss them when they get back.

minipie · 25/05/2011 19:38

Fiddle when I was small my parents both worked "flat out" (incl travel) and we had a full time live in nanny. My sis and I were happy with this. My mum was fulfilled (if knackered). In fact, I think this set up was better for us all than when my mum later became a SAHM after redundancy - she was bored and IMO helicopter-parented as a substitute for her lost career.

If you really want to work full time, get a nanny and do it - please don't assume it will be worse for your DCs that way. It all depends on your and their particular characters. (And whether you can find a good nanny).

Myself, I wouldn't want to work flat out - but that's because I'm not that ambitious, rather than because I think it would harm the DCs.

fedupofnamechanging · 25/05/2011 19:27

Housework is boring, and it's relentless. I don't know anyone who isn't bored by it tbh. I think part of your problem is that you haven't really chosen to be a SAHP, it's kind of been imposed on you. The other thing is that society usually only values people in paid employment, so it is hard to go from being someone who is seen as important at work to being a SAHM. I think you might need to adjust your mindset and get used to the idea that what you are doing is valuable. Also I think we are so used to working that it's hard to know what to do when that structure isn't there any more. It's okay to spend time doing whatever you like and maybe didn't have time for in the past. If money is not a problem then you have a great deal of freedom to explore what interests you and that is a valuable luxury. It just takes a bit of adjusting to.

The thing is, this time won't last forever and before you know it your children will be in school and your time will be your own again. Try not to spend it feeling as if you are missing out on something. You are not and if you were at work I'm sure there would be parts of your day that you don't enjoy. This way you get to change what you don't like.

Personally, I'm glad I am a SAHM. I worked when my first child was little and I found myself feeling sad that my mum was taking him to his activities and spending the days with him and I was always busy (had the kind of job that goes home with you, rather than being left behind at the end of the day).

So, for all the boredom involved in doing laundry, I know that if I was at work I'd be missing out on the lovely moments I have during the day with my DD. She is due to start school soon and I'm quite looking forward to being able to do whatever I want during the day

beesimo · 25/05/2011 19:21

But you don't have to sit at home!

NormanTebbit · 25/05/2011 19:21

Fabby - I am a person in my own right last time I looked.

NormanTebbit · 25/05/2011 19:20

Yeah, just like above. There are no jobs around here at the moment. I am doing OU degree and then retraining. I also volunteer. What keeps me going is a social circle of likeminded people who enjoy a coffee and a good gossip discussion about string theory.

It's not easy to just go out and get a job in some parts of the UK, hopefully there will be a miracle things will change.

FabbyChic · 25/05/2011 19:17

I cannot be a full time mother either, returned to work when eldest was a year old, and after five weeks with my second.

Some are just not cut out to sit at home and just be a mother, I needed to be someone in my own right rather than just the mum label.

Popbiscuit · 25/05/2011 19:16

I have been a SAHM for 10 years. It is a marathon of boredom and drudgery. You can go properly mental if you don't take steps to alleviate this. Sometimes that means scheduling your day to the minute and a 5pm glass of wine. Sometimes that means going back to work.
Beesimo; I don't think we should sugar coat SAHMummery--you can only bake so many cupcakes. At times it does feel like jail Sad

laineylou · 25/05/2011 19:09

No YANBU. I am a SAHM after redundancy too (nearly 2 years now) DS11 and DD9. I do do the volunteer thing (chair of the PTA, studying with OU - living the whole cliche) and I still get bored rigid and sick of the constant round of the washing/cooking/cleaning because it's boring and it's never 'finished'. Nobody appreciates you because they don't have to pay you (IMHO). I miss the buzz of people around - even if they annoy you sometimes. I am also looking for paid employment before I go insane - however I am still holding out for part time work to try to get the home/work balance right. Chin up - you're not alone!

beesimo · 25/05/2011 19:07

White Whine

I have actually learned quite a bit from MN thank you.

Fiddledee

It dosen't all have to be domestic work, I used to help out a lady who had MS by taking her to appoinments ect and I learnt and grew a great deal from the experience. If you don't like your day to day life change it don't sink under it.

smallpotato · 25/05/2011 19:07

I tend to swing between feeling completely lucky, happy and fulfilled to be able to be a SAHM (usually during sleepy BF cuddles with the baby or on sunny days in the park) and feeling like a completely insignificant speck of nothing whose only role in life is clearing up after my ungrateful offspring.

It sounds like it's the domestic side that's getting you down, so if you can afford it get a cleaner- I would if we had the money!

Overall, I know my kids have such a fantastic life at the moment- playdates, days out, trips to the park, lovely local preschool etc etc and they wouldn't have that if I worked full time, so on balance it's worth it for me. I'm planning on retraining as a teacher next year though, maybe you could look at a change of career as a possibility?

smallpotato · 25/05/2011 19:07

I tend to swing between feeling completely lucky, happy and fulfilled to be able to be a SAHM (usually during sleepy BF cuddles with the baby or on sunny days in the park) and feeling like a completely insignificant speck of nothing whose only role in life is clearing up after my ungrateful offspring.

It sounds like it's the domestic side that's getting you down, so if you can afford it get a cleaner- I would if we had the money!

Overall, I know my kids have such a fantastic life at the moment- playdates, days out, trips to the park, lovely local preschool etc etc and they wouldn't have that if I worked full time, so on balance it's worth it for me. I'm planning on retraining as a teacher next year though, maybe you could look at a change of career as a possibility?

Fiddledee · 25/05/2011 18:55

I've learnt to make a cornish pasty today. I'm not jumping for joy. It killed some time and made my DD happy and provided dinner.

Is this the learning and growing I'm meant to find fulfilling. Also have grown some salad leaves - wow I am achieving.

SauvignonBlanche · 25/05/2011 18:54

I was bored shitless.
Are you always this sanctimonious beesimo? Is this you learning and growing though MN? Hmm

MarshaBrady · 25/05/2011 18:52

Get a cleaner and get some work, doesn't have to be full-time, is my suggestion. If you are doing some work it will probably make you appreciate the sahm parts more too.

ChristinedePizan · 25/05/2011 18:50

Learning and growing by going to endless rounds of soft play/toddler groups/music and movement groups?

How exactly Beesimo? I'd love to know.

scottishmummy · 25/05/2011 18:45

if salary isnt imperative seek something you like doing.something to reconnect you and propel you back
do some studying/reading cpd dtuff in mean time
can you call in any favours?get foot back in door
maybe take a paycut below your previous scale to get re-established

and no i never remotely considered sahm.had nursery booked 12wk pg. motherhood doesnt solely define me and it isnt all i want to do,but i always knew id go back.i do need the approbation and mental stimulation of work.i cant get that solely at home

hope things pick up for you.

beesimo · 25/05/2011 18:42

How you can say you are bored at home and the not admit it is your own fault I don't know. You'll never have this time back again and what do you do moan and carry on like you were doing time in a gaol. What a load of rubbish you could be learning and growing just as much as a person by being a sahm as by being at work in a office.

I can't understand why you can't bring some passion and interest into every day

tigermummy35 · 25/05/2011 18:38

YANBU. I've only been a SAHM for 6 and a half months and thought the boredom was just me. Glad to know I'm not alone!

SauvignonBlanche · 25/05/2011 18:33

Charming beesimo Shock
Being a SAHM is hard work and can be boring. Your children will be happier if you're happy.
Get back to work!

ChristinedePizan · 25/05/2011 18:28

Nope, I'm sorry beesimo, I'm not a boring person and it's dull as fuck. Six months in to being a SAHM and I can't wait for my DS to start school. The list of 'things to fill your time' that sunshine posted makes me want to weep.

Don't tell me that's rewarding. It's simply not.

octopusinabox · 25/05/2011 18:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

McDreamy · 25/05/2011 18:23

wow beeismo that is true insight!

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