'I'm a stay-at-home-mum and this is why I dread the weekends'

"Couldn’t figure out why I disliked them so much, you nailed it," another SAHM commented on the now-viral video.

Eleanor Katelaris

3 min read

July 20, 2023 - 12:59PM

Image: TikTok / Instagram

Parenting

Don't miss out on the headlines from Parenting. Followed categories will be added to My News.

Being a stay-at-home mum is a role that never truly allows you to be "off the clock."

While working mums may switch between going to work and coming home, stay-at-home mums don't have that distinction. Their work is their home and vice versa, and as we know, being a SAHM is one of the most challenging jobs there is.

Since the domain of SAHMs is typically the home, they organise and run it how they want.

However, when other people, (*cough* partners) enter the picture, tensions can arise.

One such mum that knows this feeling all too well is TikTok creator and mum-of-two Rachel Gibbs.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

"Weekends become something I absolutely dread"

In her now-viral video, she explains why she doesn't look forward to Friday afternoons...

"Let me tell you about why as a stay-at-home mum, weekends become something that I absolutely dread," she begins while walking around her house.

She first acknowledges that the arrangement she has with her husband (where he works in an office and she stays home) works perfectly. She takes care of their two kids, who are three-months-old and two, and he works to support the family.

Then she goes on to say that despite this, the weekends still suck. There's no rest, there's no relaxation AND you're technically still at work.

"Imagine you wake up at work every single day. Even on your days off, you wake up at work, and then you're expected to still do your job, but you're also surrounded by people who are like, 'But it's your day off. Like just chill out, it's your day off,'" she says.

Even though her husband encourages her to take a break while he takes over, he doesn't know how the house runs on weekdays, which leaves the house in shambles.

She continues the analogy, saying, "But then you look around and sh*ts going wrong at work and like there's someone else there who doesn't work at your job, but they're like trying to help and do stuff, but they really don't know where to go."

'Weekends for stay at home mums do. not. exist."

"I steer the ship, he rakes in the coals"

She emphasises that her husband is a very involved parent, but she is the default parent.

"Being a stay-at-home mum is my job," she says. "I am at work every single day. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep to the 3 a.m. toddler run into the rooms, right? I am always at work."

Rachel then laughs about how when Sunday comes, she's begging for Monday to arrive so she can get back to "steering the ship," while he, "rakes in the coals to keep the wheels moving."

She added in the caption: "Weekends for SAHMs do. not. exist. Who’s planning weekend activities? Who’s picking out clothes? Who’s planning for the upcoming week? WHO FEELS GUILTY ABOUT 'PAWNING' THE KIDS OFF ON THE 'WORKING' PARENT?"

Image: TikTok / Instagram

"Extra help in reality just complicates things for the next week"

The video now has over 700k views and struck a chord with fellow SAHMs

One person said: "I’ve been a SAHM for almost three years. Weekends are SO MUCH HARDER because now there’s an extra person to feed and throw off routine.,” one top comment read.

Another SAHM wrote: "Yes!! As much extra help as it is, in reality, it just complicates things for the next week."

Then a third added: "Yes! I completely get this. Some days it's so over stimulating having him home all day and throwing off my routine that it makes me real cranky."

"Right??" Rachel replied. "Like it feels like yet another child to wrangle at times."

And someone else joked: "On weekends my husband wants to stay home and I’m like LET'S GO SOMEWHERE ELSE."

"Couldn’t figure out why I dislike weekends so much, but you nailed it. I think I expect it to be easier with my husband home and then get frustrated when it's not!" concluded a different mum.