Mistakes I’ve Made as a Working Mom (And What I’ve Learned Along the Way)

When I became a mom, I knew my world would shift in a thousand ways. What I didn’t know was how loud the inner critic would become. Trying to show up fully at work and fully at home sometimes feels like living in two different worlds, each one asking for my best, and me wondering if I have enough to go around.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. Not the kind that scar your kids for life (thankfully!), but the kind that quietly steal your joy and keep you stuck in comparison or guilt. Maybe you’ll see yourself in these too.

Mistake #1: Counting the Hours

For too long, I treated my time like a scoreboard. If I spent eight hours at work, I’d tally it against only two at home, and the math never came out in my favor. I told myself I was “missing out” or “not present enough.”

But here’s the truth: my kids don’t measure love in hours. They measure it in connection.

In bedtime stories, car ride conversations, Saturday pancakes, and the way I look at them when they’re telling me something important. Quality over quantity isn’t just a cliché—it’s the real currency of parenthood.

Mistake #2: Forgetting the Example I’m Setting

There were days when I felt selfish for working, like I was choosing ambition over motherhood. What I forgot was that my children are watching, always.

When they see me pursuing my calling, showing up for others, or persevering through hard days, they’re learning what it looks like to live a life of purpose. They see that it’s possible to be both nurturing and driven, both present at home and present in the world. And honestly, that’s a gift I want them to carry into their own futures.

Mistake #3: Forgetting to Give Myself Grace

I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking I can do it all. The truth? I can do anything—but I cannot do everything.

When I try, I end up exhausted, resentful, and missing the moments that matter most. Grace has to come first: grace for the laundry that didn’t get folded, grace for the emails I answered late, grace for the takeout nights. Grace for myself, because the standard of perfection only steals joy from the good-enough moments that actually matter.

The Takeaway

If you’re a working mom reading this, maybe you’ve made these same mistakes. Maybe you’re in the thick of them right now. If so, I want you to hear this: you are enough. Your kids don’t need a perfect mom—they need you, exactly as you are.

Every day, we get another chance to choose connection over comparison, modeling over guilt, and grace over perfection. And those “mistakes”? They’re really just reminders that we’re still learning—still growing—right alongside our kids.