How often should a stay-at-home mom get a break?

husband helping stay-at-home mom, get a break, SAHM

I’ve been a stay-at-home mom now for a few years. At the beginning of my SAHM journey, I often wondered how often a stay-at-home mom should get a break from house chores and child-rearing.

I didn’t have stay-at-home mom friends at the time to ask questions and share experiences with. Now that I’ve been doing this job (yes being a SAHM is a job) for a few years now, I wanted to write this post to help new stay-at-home moms understand how often they should get a break.

How often should a stay-at-home mom get a break?

A stay-at-home mom should get a break at least once or twice a week to recharge herself mentally and physically.

Being a stay-at-home mom can be a very stressful job. There’s a lot that goes into running a household and taking care of kids. We cook, clean, run errands, discipline, and care for our kids.

When they’re sick, we stay up all night tending to them so that our spouse can get enough rest to function at work the next day.

During the first few years, we get very little sleep from breast or bottle feeding every 2-3 hours. As they get older, the work doesn’t end.

Between taking them to extracurricular practices and doctor’s appointments, we work hard to instill good morals in them so they can become decent human beings in the future.

All of this work can take a toll on you if you don’t actively take care of yourself. As a SAHM, you need one or two good days to yourself that allows you to get out of the house without kids.

It’s important that you pursue hobbies just for yourself. If you don’t have any good hobbies yet, check out 29 Fun Stay-at-Home Mom Hobby Ideas (money-making hobbies included) for inspiration. Having something you do just for yourself will help with your mental health and self-identity.

It’s very easy for us to lose our identities in our kids as stay-at-home moms. So make sure you try to do adult things with your friends during your days off. Go to the spa or nail salon, go to a party or just hang out with your friends.

If your spouse is unable to give you a break, then ask friends or family to come over and help you watch your kids while you take time out for yourself.

How much should a husband help a stay-at-home mom?

A husband should help a stay-at-home mom as often as he can. If he’s home and free of work responsibilities, his attention should be turned to being a dad. You should not have to do all the work when your husband is home. It is important that a stay-at-home mom gets a break as often as possible.

I know it’s easier said than done. At the beginning of my stay-at-home mom journey, it was hard to figure out how much help my husband should be giving me when he was home with the kids.

In the early stages of our parenting journey, I found myself doing most of the work even when he was home.

This arrangement obviously didn’t work out for us because it led to a lot of resentment toward each other. It took many honest conversations and therapy for us to realize we were doing things all wrong.

My husband learned that parenting is a two-way street because it took two people to make the baby, and I learned to ask for help when needed.

You may also like: 10 Ways To Find Your Purpose As A Stay-at-Home Mom

It takes two people to nurture and love a child and to teach them manners and morals. We need both parents to work together to make sure they’re fed, clothe,d and happy.

This means that if I was busy and the dishes needed to be done or the kids needed to be changed, then it was his responsibility as a parent to do them.

If either one of us needed a nap in the morning due to lack of sleep, then the other would care for the kids while we slept.

If you need your husband to help you more around the house, then you need to sit him down and tell him. Make sure he knows how overwhelmed you are, and how much you need him to step up as a parent.

If you need to go to therapy to get him to understand your side of things, then please do so.

Conclusion

The job of a stay-at-home mom is never-ending. If you don’t take good care of yourself mentally and physically, you will eventually burn out. We all know the saying “you can’t give from an empty cup”.

This means you can’t take care of your kids if you’re not caring for yourself first. So take a break as often as you need to in order for you to thrive. I hope this article has helped you answer the question of how often a stay-at-home mom should get a break.