Serena Williams is “evolving away from tennis” to expand her family. It’s a hot topic around the globe at the moment with many weighing in on her choice and comments made about choosing her career vs family. What resonated with us was this one line from Serena…

“We either sit with a life that forces us into carrying a brutal, insurmountable load, or we make a choice between the things we love most in this world.”

It’s like, if the likes of Serena Williams is struggling, then we don’t have to feel so bad about the bad days we have had right?! Trying to have it all is hard! And we mean HARD! No matter who you are, this story of trying to balance work and family can have us all at out wits ends, burnt out, and ready to call it quits. Many women out there are saying, lucky Serena, at least she has a choice. Doesn’t mean it was an easy choice, but yes, she did have a choice.

We are in an age where most women (or men) can’t afford to stay home, so we have to carry this brutal and insurmountable load that Serena speaks of. In these times, we need support. As the African proverb goes “It takes a village to raise a child”. The best thing about a village is that everyone has their own strengths and we get to learn from each other. One mum will help another mum who is struggling to breastfeed because she went through the same thing. An older mum who has had 3 kids can now help the younger mum who is struggling her three-year-old who is throwing tantrums. No matter what it is, when we pull together as a tribe or parenting community, the load becomes a lot lighter.

We get to voice our fear, we get to be heard and we get to feel understood. Guess what? You are not the only one going through this, it doesn’t matter if you live in a third world country or a first world country, kids will be kids, stress is stress and we as humans are meant to interact and help each other instead of doing this “I can do it alone hero stuff” that we have become accustomed to because we are embarrassed. Pride is our biggest enemy and social media has had a big part to play in it.

Just because you see “perfect sally” and her family doing great on all her Instagram photos, it does not mean that is the reality. We all struggle. It may be in different ways or with different issues, but your struggles are not the first struggles.

There is not one parent out there who cannot benefit from the help of another parent or even from a professional. If you are struggling and feel like you have a brutal or insurmountable load, there are techniques and strategies that can help you cope better and keep the family bond strong while achieving the best outcomes possible for your children.

From parenting groups to one-on-one parenting consultations, we can help you manage the parenting side of this heavy load.