According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 70 percent of moms with children under 18 are employed, which means that most moms are balancing work and families. And being a working mother is no easy feat.
A recent Welch’s study of 2,000 American mothers with children ages five to 12 found that the average working mom works the equivalent of 2.5 full-time jobs. She clocks in a 98-hour work week, with her day typically starting at 6:23 a.m. and ending around 8:31 p.m. That’s a 14-hour workday… and that’s got to be exhausting.
Fortunately, there’s the internet. An array of Facebook groups exist to support working moms who can turn to them for inspiration, life advice, career questions and more. Here are 10 of the most resourceful groups full of other working moms — many of whom who’ve been there, done that — for those who could use a little boost.
1. Busy Moms Building
Monica Froese of the Redefining Mom blog started Busy Moms Building, a Facebook group for moms who want to start or grow their own online businesses. The online community of mom entrepreneurs is intended for collaboration on ideas that allow mothers to build businesses while supporting their family goals.
2. Making Lemonade Community
The Making Lemonade Community is a place where “moms turn their passions into profits.” It’s a community that was built to help mom entrepreneurs grow both their businesses and their families. And it also brings in experts to train on topics such as business, life, health and family.
3. Working Moms Support Group
The group description reads: “A friend came up with an idea that us working moms should have a support group. I thought that was a great idea, so here it is! A place where we can politely vent about everyday life, kids, work, hubbies, etc. Also to share useful tips, recipes, ideas and post photos of family and inspirational quotes. Enjoy!” Members often post questions about working moms’ guilt and pregnancy, too.
4. Glitter Moms
Glitter Moms is “a positive space to openly talk about balancing motherhood and pursuing anything creative, from creative careers and businesses to part-time gigs and freelance jobs in the creative industry, blogs, side hustles, Etsy shops, etc.” Moms post advice, feedback and support regarding all things “creative” — plus tidbits on juggling the work-life balance, favorite Trader Joe’s finds and the best sweatpants in which to pick up the kids from carpool. There’s something for every working mom here, even for the not-so-creative ones.
5. Kids’ Crafts and Activities
For working moms looking to spend some off-time with their children and in need of some inspiration as to what to do with them, Kids’ Crafts and Activities is a helpful group. The content and conversations — largely aout DIY crafts, art project ideas and even food activities — are even moderated by a small collection of creative kids’ activities bloggers.
6. Cat & Nat Chat
This group is a support network for moms that intends to “make motherhood a sisterhood.” Women are encouraged to post about almost anything they need advice on — gift ideas, marital troubles, work-life balance and more. Just no drama, no disrespect, no bashing and no self promoting. Oh, and no medical advice questions because those should be left for doctors.
7. Moms with Careers Making It All Work
Working moms in this group ask for help with everything from daycare suggestions to how to handle workplace sexism. Appropriate topics, according to the group, include: daycare advice, struggles associated with juggling momhood and career, tips on being a more effective worker, time management, work goals, family goals, work-life balance and meal planning. No childless women or jobless moms allowed; it’s truly for working mothers only.
8. Dairy Queens: Working Moms
This is a spin-off of the larger Facebook group, Dairy Queens, of which mothers must be members already in order to be accepted into this group specifically for working moms. Once in, members discuss breastfeeding practices, pumping in the workplace, weaning and more.
9. Wanderful
This one isn’t necessarily for working moms, but it is for women who need a vacation — and working moms can definitely use a break now and again. Wandeful is a start-up offering meetups in 25 cities worldwide, a blog with travel tips, guided adventure tours, an annual Women in Travel summit, a series of retreats for travel aficionados and the world’s only women-only home-share network. And it also has this Facebook group, where women (including working moms) who love to travel share inspiration and tips on everything from where to go for a weekend escape to safe destinations for traveling with small children.
10. Working Moms Connection
This group is for “moms currently working (any type of job, in any type of career, with any type of work arrangement).” Future moms who want to learn about the challenges of being a working mom and SAHM’s who want to re-enter the workforce are also welcome. Members post challenges for one another, links to resources they love, pictures of their children and advice on all things working moms face.
This article originally appeared on Fairygodboss and is republished here with permission.
