Woman Summing Up What ‘Mom Guilt’ Looks Like Goes Viral

Mom guilt happens to every parent at some point and a comedian has managed to summarize exactly what it’s like in a hilarious video.

Claire Warren, a U.K.-based video creator and mom of two, posts content under the name My Kinda Mum. In the clip, she tries to do day-to-day tasks, but is rudely interrupted by “mom guilt.” She’s in bed in the morning, feeling exhausted after a long night with the baby, when mom guilt pops up next to her.

“Well, a good mom would have been up hours ago making sensory trays,” says mom guilt. “All set for another day of failure then?”

Later in the video, Warren sits down at her laptop to do some work when mom guilt berates her for allowing her kids to watch TV so she can have 30 minutes to herself. “Well I guess it comes down to what’s more important – your emails, or their happiness and development,” she says.

Exasperated, Warren shuts her laptop. But mom guilt adds: “Wow! So you’re just not going to contribute to the family income at all.”

The video is a hilarious yet realistic representation of what it’s like to be a parent, especially when there is so much pressure to find the right balance between childcare and work. When you focus on your children, you worry about falling behind in your career – but when you concentrate on work, you feel bad for missing out on time with your kids.

Research by the health insurance company Bupa UK found nearly two-thirds of mums (63%) have driven themselves to exhaustion with the pressure to be a “supermum,” with one in five saying the plight has affected their mental health.

In the video’s caption, Warren offers some advice to tackle mom guilt.

“Wouldn’t life be so much easier if we gave ourselves the kind of empathy and understanding we give to others?” she says. “Whilst I have by no means conquered the mum guilt, I have found a few techniques that help to reduce the self-bashing.”

Firstly, she advises people to stop comparing themselves to others online.

“Those Insta-mums who make the beautiful creative meals, sensory trays and play activities – they probably do that for a living. If it was your job and you got paid to put out new creative content each day, you’d find the time to do it too,” she says.

Warren adds that losing your temper occasionally is human – and never getting frustrated and angry is impossible. “But what you can do, is apologise quickly if and when you’ve been short-tempered and ask your kids how they think you could have dealt with it better, and how they can help you in future,” she says.

When you’re a working parent, you’re inevitably going to feel guilty about having to make sacrifices, she adds. “There is no perfect balance. So instead of imaging you can do it all, get comfortable with compromise and fully embrace whichever choices you make,” she says.

Commenters applauded Warren for her accurate depictions of life as a mom. “Mum guilt is a relentless madam just waiting to pounce on that one negative moment that cascades into so many others,” one wrote.

Another added: “We as mums should never feel guilty… Stay strong mum we are all doing the best we can.”

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