Feeling like a bad mother
I lost my job in September, and since then my world has turned upside down. I’ve been dealing with debt calls and liability orders. A few months ago, I felt completely overwhelmed. I didn’t want to bring my daughter into the world just for her to suffer, so I felt as if I didn’t deserve her.
As a single mother, I do everything on my own. My relationship with my family isn’t great, and her dad owes her £5,000 in child maintenance. When I asked my family for help in looking after my daughter while I worked, it didn’t last long only two weeks. As the saying goes, if someone doesn’t like you, they tend to not like your child either.
Last week, I found a new job that offers prospects and flexibility. The only issue is that the flexibility comes after six weeks of training, which means I would have to put my daughter in nursery from 7:30 AM until 6 PM. Once training is complete I can pick my hours and even work from home (GAME CHANGER)
I can’t help but feel uneasy about this arrangement. I feel terrible about the idea of such a long day for her. Staying in our current situation is also not an option, it’s bad, and it’s making me feel depressed, which contributes to my feelings of being a bad mom.
I’m not looking for judgment or negative comments. I’m really close to the edge and can’t handle any more negativity. I would greatly appreciate any constructive feedback, opinions, or ideas on how I can move forward, as I feel awful right now.
It might seem like a big jump for the long days, but children are surprisingly resilient. If this is your March 21 baby, I guess she'll be starting school in Sept anyway? So nursery could act as a useful social transition maybe? Xx (my child had to do 3 full days a week at nursery from age 1, and seems to have had more benefits from it than anything else)