What Parenting Asks Us To Carry
PARENTreads Issue No. 9: Essays on parenting guilt, self-preservation, and the emotional weight of responsibility
Much of parenting happens in the space between what we give and what we carry. This edition of PARENTreads gathers essays that examine the weight of responsibility, the persistence of guilt, and the ongoing negotiation between self-sacrifice and self-preservation. The essays that follow move through the many ways parents experience, question, and reshape what parenting asks us to hold.
The Weight We Notice First
When Juggling Isn’t Entertaining - by Rachel Richards | Teenagers Untangled
If you feel like the only time your juggling of the parenting load gets noticed is when you drop something, then this one’s for you. Here’s why it’s happening and how to put down some balls.
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Handling Guilt - by Carl Martin | High Performance Parent
Why parental guilt persists, how affirmations help interrupt it, and how using guilt as information—not self-judgement—protects energy, priorities, and presence as a parent.
» Read here
3 Ways I Share The Mental Load of Parenting with my Husband - by Amanda Brown | Type A Mom
The mental load of modern parenting is huge... After taking on too much, I figured out 3 main areas where my husband can share the load with me. Here’s what we do to help me avoid burning out!
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Parenting Myth #2: This Is Easier For Everyone Else - by Erin Miller | unpopular PARENT
Comparison doesn’t shout. It whispers through quiet doubts that make us question ourselves. This second essay in The Myths Making Parenting Harder series explores how comparison disguises itself as motivation—and slowly erodes confidence.
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When The Load Isn’t Just Personal
Changing the Environment to Reduce Risk of Parental Burnout - by Guen Bradbury | Growing up WEIRD
In WEIRD cultures, we think parental burnout is almost inevitable. But it doesn’t have to be. We can set our environments up to improve our own, and our children’s, ability to thrive.
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Empty Tanks Don’t Get Us Where We Need to Go - by Erica Gober, LCSW | Grace For The Growing Years
Explores why caring for ourselves is essential, not selfish. Using a “running on empty” metaphor, the essay shows how depletion impacts how we show up for others and provides practical tips to help.
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The Questions Parents Carry Inside
Am I a Good Dad? - by Jeff Hittner | Ambitious Dads
My 5-year-old son broke his leg skiing. Two years later, I still feel guilty about it. As Dads we want to be great, but we are filled with Imposter Syndrome. So what does it mean to be a great dad?
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Maternal Finitude - by Cindy DiTiberio | The Mother Lode
An essay on the concept “there is always more rope” and how overextended mothers feel. An invitation to let go of that lie, to learn the art of refusal, and reclaim some semblance of self.
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Pseudo-Parenting Failure - by Chris Hanson | Open and Relational Parenting
Part of a “Parenting Failure” series, this post discusses “pseudo-parenting failure”: perceived failure from expectations, comparisons, and judgment, pointing parents toward grace and self-compassion.
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What Does It Mean to “Try Our Best”? - by Kathleen Robinson
A reflection on motherhood, guilt, and what it really means to do our best. Let’s challenge the culture of mom guilt and reframe growth as showing up however we can and making it right when we falter.
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Parents of Teens, Stop Telling Yourself “I Should Know How to Do This.” - by Lori K Walters | Peace in My Parenting
When our teenagers take us into unknown parenting territory, there are inner voices that say we should already know what to do. This article explores the source of these thoughts and quietens them.
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Finding A Different Way Forward
Swapping Parental Guilt for Curiosity with Ash Brandin, The Gamer Educator - by Ryan Rose Weaver (she/hers) | In Tending and The Gamer Educator
In this interview, we explore what it means to swap curiosity for guilt in some of our most difficult parenting moments—especially those that involve using screen time to meet our own needs.
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It’s Okay Not to Be Okay — What’s Not Okay Is Staying Silent - by Anna Borle | Tender & True
A gentle reflection on grief, silence, and survival—reminding us it’s okay to struggle, but healing begins when we stop carrying it alone and let ourselves be seen.
» Read here
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I love how you hae compiled all these essays together- all the similar topics, but different perspectives!
This is such a carefully curated and needed collection.
Parenting does happen in that space between what we give and what we carry — and I felt that line immediately. The way you organized these essays around guilt, burnout, comparison, and self-preservation makes the emotional weight of parenting feel both seen and shared.
Thank you for including my piece alongside these voices. It’s an honour to be part of a conversation that reminds parents they are not alone in the questions they carry.
There’s so much grace woven through this issue.