When Kids Get Sick, Working Moms Do The Impossible Math

"A Genexa survey of 1,000 U.S. moms found that 70% use their own sick days to stay home when their child is ill, and 58% work from home while caregiving. In other words, many of us are doing the same impossible math: caring for sick kids while trying to keep our work lives moving."

"My husband works at a school and can't easily get coverage, so as a freelancer working from home, the sick-day math often lands on me. Even if our roles were reversed, I have a feeling I'd still be trying to rearrange my schedule to make the pediatrician appointment, play the nurse role, and work with the feverish toddler on my lap."

"As mothers, we tend to blame ourselves for their endless illnesses - for not giving them enough Vitamin D, or forgetting to make them wash their hands before eating, or letting them play at that grimy playplace. But the truth is, kids just get sick. A lot."

A working mother faces the challenge of managing a sick toddler during a critical virtual meeting, unable to use her regular sitter. She attempts the meeting outdoors, feeling unprofessional despite colleagues' reassurance. Her husband's inflexible work schedule as a school employee means childcare responsibilities typically fall to her. Research from a Genexa survey reveals that 70% of mothers use their own sick days when children are ill, and 58% work from home while caregiving. Mothers often internalize guilt about their children's frequent illnesses, blaming themselves for preventive lapses. However, frequent childhood illness is normal and expected, not a parental failure.

Read at Scary Mommy