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Sharing on the Humans of New York Facebook page one busy mum admitted “to believe motherhood is the most important job in the world, you’d have to believe your child is the most important person in the world.”

She told HONY “He’s starting to be less dependent, but so far it’s been pretty relentless and repetitive. A lot of changing diapers and feeding. The same mundane task over and over again. It can be exhausting and depersonalizing.”

“I’m an emergency room doctor, and that’s where I think I’m most useful to the world. It’s great to be back. If some people love parenting, that’s very lucky. There are certainly moments when it’s wonderful. But to believe motherhood is the most important job in the world, you’d have to believe your child is the most important person in the world.”

The post certainly sparked some heated responses with nearly 10,000 comments and 146K reactions.

“This lady doesn’t deserve her beautiful child,” wrote one person.

Another said, “I wish everyone would and could feel the unconditional love I have for my kids.”

While several others commented that they felt sorry for the toddler in the photograph and volunteered to adopt him.

Do you agree with this busy mums thoughts?

Share your comments below

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  • Where did she say she didnt love him????
    For goodness sake. This woman simply said that stay at home motherhood is not really for her and that she is a better person if she is working. And thats perfectly ok.

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  • I think her comments were taken way out of context. She loves her child and if she doesn’t do that the same way as other people that’s fine we all do it differently.

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  • Ooh, I understand where she might be coming from but she certainly hasn’t explained it in a good way.

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  • Yeah, I bet she regrets those words. She obviously loves her child but it can be tedious raising small humans!

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  • I can see how it could be boring if you had no access to “adult communication” or only very little of it. I know a Mum who had very little contact with. her husband except part of Sat, Sunday and part of Monday becuase he worked long night shift, got home and went straight to bed. During that time she did household chores such as washing and cleaning and was home for what time they did have to share provided he wasn’t away for a week straight. During that week she often went out mainly within walking distance just to get some adult conversation. A young school age child and a baby did not give her “adult conversation” Computers were not used much in home then.

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  • She didn’t say she doesn’t love her child. She didn’t say she doesn’t want him. She is saying she feels her work in the emergency room is where she feels most useful to the world. Im sure the peoples lives she saves would agree. Im a stay at home mother, i love my children but i feel useless most the time. I get what she means

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  • To each their own. I’m sure she still loves her child regardless.
    Motherhood is important in many different aspects.
    Some people like work, some people like to stay home a some have work but wish they could stay home with their kids….

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  • I think my boys are the most important kids in the world because they’re mine. I think most Mums feel the same way. This is just her opinion about feeling more important at work than at home. It doesn’t mean she loves her son any less than anyone else.

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  • I can understand where she is coming from as a very respected and emergency room nurse – it would feel as if she were not being utilised to her full potential, but her photo shows how much she loves her child. I have been in both places – a working single mum [my hubby died], and a stay at home mum. Both stages were wonderful – when I worked I took my child to a creche and the morning bus ride introduced him to other people, made him respect some silence at times, but also was a great learning time as he learnt what was passing him by and mastered speech [probably too well – as I can always remember him saying when I told him he was a chatterbox at 18 months – ‘That’s only your opinion’]. But I do agree with this mums thoughts and I think you have to walk in her shoes before commenting badly.

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  • I think some people are better parents when they return to work. So if this is the case for this mother, then that is fine.

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  • I do think it is sad that mothers don’t always get the rewards they seek as a mother, and seeking it from their professional life instead. Yes it can be repetitive but you have to be creative and think out of the box and change your routine. I never stayed in a routine and did what I felt suited my son, we had a lot of fun when he was little and went out everyday and people would be so supportive and stop to talk all the time, I never felt lonely.

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  • I would say that parenting is the toughest job in the world. It has its rewards but can have its downside also. I believe you have to be fully committed to raising your little one/s. I don’t know why some people have children, and they want to get back to work as soon as they can. One or the other will take precedence. And anyway, isn’t life itself mundane. We rise up and virtually do almost the same things daily, so it isn’t just parenting. There are jobs which have to be done the same time every day the same way, otherwise, they don’t get done. I enjoyed mothering my children and was a stay at home mum. I never wanted to be a CEO or climb any corporate ladder, I was content with raising my children and running my home and that can be a huge reward and achievement in itself for most. My daughter went back to work 16 months after her daughter was born. She would never be a stay at home mum like I was with her. My husband and I never had the 3 garages and 3 cars, the expensive furniture and other material things that so many people feel they need today. We got by with what we had and we had a lot of second-hand items and we did it tough. My children didn’t always have what they wanted, but the had what they needed and they turned out alright. Who wants everything in the world anyway? You would soon be dissatisfied with everything, that’s human nature. My daughter wouldn’t even take the clothing that she wore that I had for her daughter as she wanted all new things for her daughter. (Nothing but the best) That’s the difference in attitude today. And whilst I may not agree with what she does or how she does do it, that is her choice and her parenting method. I came home to an empty house every day from school as both my parents worked and I declared that if I ever got married and had children I would stay home and raise them. I wanted to make afternoon tea for them daily when they came home from school and hear all about their day, what they did and what they learnt. To some that may be boring, but it was important to me as I never had anyone to be there and do that for me. I have never regretted being a stay at home mum and that was my choice, and we all have to make our own choices.

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  • The problem here is that a lot women (not all) from the time they are teenagers are taught to tap into
    their masculine sides: be competitive to get a well paid job, be aggressive in the workplace to earn more money etc.
    However, when these women have children and really need to tap into their feminine sides,they have been suppressed for so long, it may not come naturally. Nurturing is seen to them as mundane and dull, while the masculine focused working world is a lot more alluring. Hence, I would guarantee this mother/doctor would have her child in full-time care, & be unfulfilled in the time she does spend with her child.
    She may need to unpick a few issues before she can attain a wonderful bond with her precious child.

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  • Actually, she has a point. Mothering (parenting) is absolutely important, but so are other things. And I think that’s all she meant to say; it doesn’t automatically supersede everything.

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  • I wonder who is/are the most important person or people in the world to her then? Anyway, she’s just being honest and doesn’t mean she doesn’t love her child. I think raising the life or lives you choose to bring into this world should be one of the most important things, though, as well as looking after yourself so you can be the best you can be. They’re only young for so long. I don’t think she deserved to be abused, as no one does, but I can see why people reacted like that. It’s as if she finds strangers at her work more important than her own child. I wonder if he has his father around or other family.

    Reply

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