{"id":9226,"date":"2025-06-19T22:03:48","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T12:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/?p=9226"},"modified":"2025-06-23T22:25:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T12:25:01","slug":"central-coast-mums-modern-motherhood-struggles-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/central-coast-mums-modern-motherhood-struggles-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Coast Mums: Are We Drowning or Thriving in Modern Motherhood?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by India Tarasin, central coast writer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was young, the \u2018successful image\u2019 of a woman were characters straight out of rom\u2013coms. It was Elle Woods completing a law degree with a bobble pen and winning her first court case. Quick\u2013witted Andie Anderson pursued a career in political journalism from the desk of a cult women\u2019s magazine, and Jenna Rink sought to transform her life as \u2018a big time magazine editor\u2019 with a penthouse in Manhattan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They weren\u2019t Emmeline Pankhurst or Betty Friedan, (although they would come later), but these women were the epitome of success and power to a 13\u2013year\u2013old girl in the mid\u2013noughties. They were driven, career\u2013focused, sharp, witty, and very, very beautiful. They had left the 20th century behind and all of the restrictions based on their sex. Granted, these women were characters, but for millennial girls, they were the delivered image of female heroism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now as a 31\u2013year\u2013old working mum with two children under four, I can\u2019t help but feel that I\u2019m missing the sparkly life that I saw other women leading. When I glance at myself in the mirror, I am shocked to see the person looking back at me. Her eyes are dull, she has sunken grey eyebags and her hair is thin. It didn\u2019t used to be thin? And wasn\u2019t she in her late twenties like, last week? The wardrobe is mostly a collection of polyester\u2013blend, and there are stains and marks on almost every item of clothing. In fact, she doesn\u2019t even bother to buy anything nice for herself anymore, because, what\u2019s the point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s not alone, either. In fact, in the last three weeks there have been over 10 requests for help posted in local mum\u2019s\u2019 Facebook group. Some are bravely sharing their feelings of isolation, loneliness, and financial hardship in this increasingly expensive time to be alive. Nappies, groceries, help towards bills are all common weekly requests. These women are all proud mums, so much so that they post anonymously so no\u2013one can identify them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do all the right things and take all the right steps to reach what we\u2019ve been told is happiness; study, work, marry, buy a home, create a family. But when I speak to my cohort of brilliant, passionate, intelligent, kind, driven mothers, not one of us can say that we are feeling successful. In fact, we are drowning. Why is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While more women than ever are joining and staying in the workforce, 62.4% of us, to be exact, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean we are working harder and longer for the sense of autonomy. We\u2019re in a cost\u2013of\u2013living crisis, with over 40% of Australian households struggling to pay for essentials. In 2024, 73% of families were dual\u2013income, a 5.8% jump from 2019. The average working mothers I speak to aren\u2019t feeling burnt out just because they are working, it\u2019s because they simply can\u2019t afford not to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura is in her early thirties and has been a frontline emergency services worker for 12 years. She is a local mum who has always been driven and career\u2013oriented, however, no amount of experience could prepare her for what would be her biggest job yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have a perception of motherhood before having kids,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t think it would be this hard. I\u2019m just trying to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While women have been having babies since the beginning of time, the somewhat new ability to \u2018have it all\u2019, of maintaining a career and raising children is both empowering but quite frankly, exhausting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe majority of the time I feel like I\u2019m just going through the motions and stuck on the hamster wheel,\u201d Laura says. \u201cI have ambitions to move into other roles within my field, but I just don\u2019t have the time or energy to study again. I need to work to keep a regular income, but it starts and ends there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this affect the desire and ability to grow a family? Is that what we want anymore? Birth rates have been steadily declining since 2008 with a current ratio of 1.5 per woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel incredibly torn about having another child,\u201d Laura says. \u201cWhile I have always imagined having multiple children, I feel that if I had another child now, it would impact so much of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Laura is open about her struggles, it wasn\u2019t always the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have many mum\u2013friends before, so I didn\u2019t know if what I felt was normal,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But since speaking with other mums, she has found a whole new power bank that drives her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking mums, single mums, basically any and every mum \u2013 they\u2019re my idols,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re my secret weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And she\u2019s right. The mum handing you that extra wet wipe, the coffee date when you haven\u2019t left the house all week, the glass of wine on a teary day, the funny meme, the best hugs that refuel you after a gruelling night. That\u2019s what motherhood is about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India is a writer with nearly 10 years of experience in digital and print publishing. She has written across lifestyle, TV, entertainment, design, e\u2013commerce and most recently, food. India has two young children and lives on the Central Coast.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by India Tarasin, central coast writer When I was young, the \u2018successful image\u2019 of a woman were characters straight out of rom\u2013coms. It was Elle Woods completing a law degree…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sync_status":"none","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[116,174],"series":[],"class_list":["post-9226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","tag-article","tag-india-tarasin"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/rear-view-mother-hugging-her-daughter-mother-s-day.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/feed\/podcast\/default-podcast","embedCode":"

Central Coast Mums: Are We Drowning or Thriving in Modern Motherhood?<\/a><\/blockquote>