Jessica Alba Has Some Great Advice For Dealing With Mom Guilt
Jessica Alba admits she struggles with mom guilt just like the rest of us
Parenting is a 24/7 job, and it’s not easy balancing your role as a mom with all the other things tugging you in a million different directions. The first rule of motherhood is you will feel guilty — for everything, always — but Jessica Alba recently dished out some helpful advice every busy parent needs to hear.
In the most recent issue of Parents Latina magazine, mom and Honest Company CEO Jessica Alba admitted it’s easy to get overwhelmed by work and motherhood, but it’s important not to let the stress get the best of you. “Don’t get overwhelmed trying to do everything at once,” she cautions. “Lay out what you can get done now and what will take longer. Don’t be hard on yourself.”
Alba is mom to two girls, ages four and seven, and she knows all too well how it feels to split your time between work and family. She often feels the dreaded “mom guilt” creeping in when she’s busy, but she says it’s vital to put yourself first sometimes. “Doing your best to be present wherever you are is what’s important,” says Alba. “Make time to eat healthy and stay active. It’s worth it to recharge once a week: Get sleep, have a date night or a girls’ night in, and drink some wine!”
We get to drink wine?! Well, Jessica, if you insist.
As moms, we feel a lot of pressure to be present for our kids every single minute of the day. Thanks to the internet, we know when other parents are baking homemade snacks, taking over the PTA, or DIYing the fuck out of everything from toys to clothes to decor. It’s hard not to feel like you’re failing somehow if you have other priorities or have to put your family’s needs on hold to accomplish something in your own life.
It’s important, though, that we don’t neglect our responsibilities and goals just to feel like we’re earning a shiny gold star in the world of parenting. Our kids need to see us fulfilled and happy, just as much as they need us to occasionally turn off our email and build a Lego city with them. There’s room for both, and we shouldn’t feel guilty for devoting time to one thing over another.
As much as I know we’re all sick of hearing the phrase “work-life balance,” it really is about making time for what matters to you and doing your best with what you’ve got. We could all use about 30 extra hours in the day, but since we’re not going to get that, we have to strike the balance that works for us. Rather than feeling bad about what we can’t do, let’s celebrate the many difficult and amazing things we manage to accomplish every single day.
