I feel like I'm failing my children

[findyourbacon]

Long story short - 2 kids, 8 and 4. Both me and my partner work full time, so the oldest is in school with after school club, and the youngest is in nursery every day til 6pm. Both kids are showing behavioural issues and I can't help thinking it's all my fault as I'm not there enough for them. They're lashing out and craving attention. I'm so tired of it all - it's just a constant battle and juggle. I'm trying to enjoy the small things but I feel all the joy has been sucked out of my life.

Anyone else feel the same? How do you get through the dark days?

Could you reduce your hours and finish early to spend more time on an evening? That might help

I don't think it is unusual to have days where you feel like that.

I make sure that I have some one-on-one time with both of mine. So DD and I go for a drink in a cafe whilst DS is at football, and DS and I go to the cafe in the library whilst DD is at climbing.

I also ensure that I get some time to myself. Otherwise I end up feeling run down and grumpy, which doesn't help.