SAHMs...do you ever feel like you're "wasting" your talents/education/experience (in whatever career you had prior) or guilty that you could "do more" for your community?

I was a daycare teacher just before having my first. I’d just be doing the same with different kids and would much rather be doing it with my own lol

Sometimes I think about how much more art I could be doing, how much more time I could dedicate to promoting it, I think about how maybe I would already have my dream job if I just had the time and energy that I had before becoming a mom.

Honestly, no really. I’m contributing to my family and my child's development in ways that will have a lasting impact. And that means the world to me. It's helpful to remember that your career doesn't have to end because you're a stay-at-home mom now. Many moms re-enter the workforce once their kids are older or take on new ventures they hadn't considered before. Feeling like you "could do more" is natural, but you're likely already contributing in meaningful ways, even if they aren't as visible or conventional 😊

I have a BA and a Masters - my skills will keep until I am ready to re-enter the workforce. I don’t consider raising a child to be a waste of anyone’s talents.

Nah. Jobs will be there when my kids are older. I’ll never get this time back. I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be doing exactly what I was meant to do

Not at all… my kid is my biggest contribution to my community, and becoming a mother was what happened the minute I decided to specifically do community work… that threw me off but not in a way that can’t be returned to or in a way that I feel wastes anything. That doesn’t mean I never think of what else I could be doing, or that I don’t consider goals and then reconsider them in light of being a SAHM. There are things I wish I could do but I wouldn’t trade them for less time with my toddler. I do look forward to having some expanded options when my baby starts school but idk. This is a very appealing time in my life.

Thanks for the comments everyone, keep them coming! I have never desired to go back to work because I don't want to miss time with my kids... My city is struggling right now & I think it's caused some feelings of guilt.

I was a nurse and yeah I do feel like I could be learning a lot and am losing some skills/memory but at the end of the day, I wouldn't miss my toddlers growing up for any of that. Hopefully I can return one day and not be too off track but I would honestly be devastated if I missed any of my children's firsts 🥺

I have a Masters degree and I was working in what felt like a high impact field, like I was making a difference in the world. But I became a SAHM almost 3 years ago and I wouldn’t trade this time to get that job back. I love being home with my kids, seeing them grow, and it is 1000% more fulfilling than what I was doing previously

I’m a SAHM and although I do love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything else, I do feel those same feelings of guilt. I think often of how I had a good career path going and sometimes wonder if I should’ve finished school. But I think you can love being a SAHM and have some of those more “negative” feeling as well. Just try to communicate them with your partner/friends/family, whoever you feel close with. Talking it out helps me through those feelings and usually reminds me that I’m a good mama that brings lots of incomparable value to our family! Just know it’s okay to have those feelings sometimes ❤️

@Joanna thank you

Lol I was just thinking about my degrees today but I look at it like a little break because my kids need me more than anyone. I'm better than some daycare and I am happy that I get to be the one to see them everyday rather than some stranger since my family can't step up.

I fell so depressed once I gave birth and stopped school and work. I felt like I was wasting time, I had no purpose all while my husband said women would kill to have what I have and I should be grateful instead of feeling unfulfilled. Not everyone’s purpose is to solely be a mother and not every woman is a bad mother for still wanting to pursue her career. Keep your individuality and continue building yourself because when your child is grown and gone what do you have?