We weren't meant to do this alone

Last week, a friend recommended a podcast episode (link at the bottom of the newsletter) to me, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Here are three points from the episode that really hit home for me as a working parent:

The system is not set up for parents to thrive. Having kids is a massive career setback, especially for women. There’s this unspoken reality that if you take time off, you’re coming back to a lower position or fewer opportunities. And for dads who actually want to be involved? The work culture makes it nearly impossible to be present. It would be amazing if companies handled this life moment differently.

The “village” disappeared, and now we have to buy it back. In so many cultures, raising kids is a communal effort—grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors all step in. But in the U.S., that’s mostly gone. Now, we hire help—nannies, daycare, house cleaners—just to survive. And then we have to work more to pay for it. It’s wild to think about how we’ve replaced community with paid services, yet it still doesn’t feel like enough.

Most parents feel like they’re drowning, but no one wants to admit it (or it feels shameful to admit it). The mental load, the exhaustion, the constant decision fatigue—it’s real. And yet, there’s this pressure to act like we’ve got it all together. What actually helps? People who check in without waiting to be asked. A simple “Hey, I dropped off dinner at your door” or “I’m grabbing your kid from school today” can be life-changing.

This episode made me think a lot about how much we all need support—and how hard it can be to ask for it.

Have you felt this too?

Want to talk through your mental load and explore new ways to manage it?

Book a gifted hour of coaching—no strings attached—here: https://calendly.com/jenny_bv/complimentary-coaching-hour

Coming soon…
I’ll soon be offering an Emotional Intelligence Assessment with personalized, actionable steps. If you’d like to be notified when it’s ready, drop your email HERE.