--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Admitting that this job isn’t always easy…" description: "\"“Admitting that this job isn’t always easy doesn’t make somebody a bad mother. At least, it shouldn’t. We’re all on this ride together. We are not the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/jill-smokler-39826_children_admitting-that-this-job-isn-t-always-eas_267046.jpg" --- # Admitting that this job isn’t always easy doesn’t make… ![“Admitting that this job isn’t always easy doesn’t make somebody a bad mother. At least, it shouldn’t. We’re all on this ride together. We are not the first ones to ever accidentally tell our children to shut up, or wonder—just for a moment—what it would be like if we’d never had children. We…” quote by Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/jill-smokler-39826_children_admitting-that-this-job-isn-t-always-eas_267046.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/jill-smokler-39826_children_admitting-that-this-job-isn-t-always-eas_267046.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/jill-smokler-39826_children_admitting-that-this-job-isn-t-always-eas_267046.jpg) > ““Admitting that this job isn’t always easy doesn’t make somebody a bad mother. At least, it shouldn’t. We’re all on this ride together. We are not the first ones to ever accidentally tell our children to shut up, or wonder—just for a moment—what it would be like if we’d never had children. We aren’t the first mothers to feel overwhelmed and challenged and not entirely fulfilled by motherhood. And we certainly won’t be the last. Nothing can be lost by admitting our weaknesses and imperfections to one another. In fact, quite the opposite is true. We will be better mothers, better wives, and better women if we are able to finally drop the act and get real. Who are we pretending for, anyway?”” [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging the difficulty of motherhood normalizes imperfection and fosters authentic connections, improving relationships and self‑acceptance. **In simple terms:** Admitting motherhood is hard helps us be real and better. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability to grow. Themes motherhood authenticity self‑acceptance community Mood reflective empathetic Type personal motivational When to use this quote - parenting support groups - therapy sessions - family discussions - online forums Key Concepts imperfection shared experience growth Questions to Reflect On - How can you model authenticity for your children? - What support systems help you stay honest? A Different Perspective Vulnerability can be perceived as weakness, risking judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-mother/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Motherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motherhood/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [There are better mothers than disaster. A native land is the best of all mothers. We American Jews have a native land we love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/there-are-better-mothers-than-disaster-a-native-land-is-the-best-of/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [All mothers love their own children as best they can, according to their temperament and circumstances, and all mothers should have done better, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/all-mothers-love-their-own-children-as-best-they-can-according-to/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [How deep is our desire to do better than our mothers--to bring daughters into adulthood strong and fierce yet loving and gentle, adventurous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/how-deep-is-our-desire-to-do-better-than-our-mothers-to-bring/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [I think women who lead full lives are better mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jada-pinkett-smith/i-think-women-who-lead-full-lives-are-better-mothers/) [Jada Pinkett Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jada-pinkett-smith/) > [To all the the single mothers out there. Better days will come. God see your pain. So no matter what keep your head up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-all-the-the-single-mothers-out-there-better-days-will-come-god-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here's the progression. Feminism won; you can have it all; of course you want children; mothers are better at raising children than fathers; of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-douglas/here-s-the-progression-feminism-won-you-can-have-it-all-of-course-you/) [Susan J. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-j-douglas/) > [“Even if I’m setting myself up for failure, I think it’s worth trying to be a mother who delights in who her children are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/even-if-i-m-setting-myself-up-for-failure-i-think-it-s-worth-trying/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [It was always me and my sister against the big bad world. The world was bad because of our mother. Now that she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-always-me-and-my-sister-against-the-big-bad-world-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Social expectations about what constitutes a good or a bad mother haunt every decision, and the rise of the parental advice industry ensures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-expectations-about-what-constitutes-a-good-or-a-bad-mother/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Say what you mean to your children and mean exactly what you say about them to the world while keeping in mind they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-pickett/say-what-you-mean-to-your-children-and-mean-exactly-what-you-say/) Fay Pickett > [And that's the insult of it, how always it comes back to a woman being a "good" mother in the world's eyes or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-that-s-the-insult-of-it-how-always-it-comes-back-to-a-woman-being/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“As a teenager, he made screaming noises at night in his room, like a deranged person. He threw his electrical pencil sharpener at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/as-a-teenager-he-made-screaming-noises-at-night-in-his-room-like-a/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“I didn't feel like a slut, a bad mother, a terrible person. I didn't worry about my nudity or if he liked what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-didn-t-feel-like-a-slut-a-bad-mother-a-terrible-person-i-didn-t/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [As a boy, when I was bad, my mother would chew me out in Spanish. And since I was bad a lot, I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/as-a-boy-when-i-was-bad-my-mother-would-chew-me-out-in-spanish-and/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) ## More by Jill Smokler > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“I shall not judge the mother in the grocery store who, upon entering, hits the candy aisle and doles out M&M’s to her screaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/i-shall-not-judge-the-mother-in-the-grocery-store-who-upon-entering/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“• I’m sick and all I want is for my mommy to come and take care of me. I’m forty-seven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/i-m-sick-and-all-i-want-is-for-my-mommy-to-come-and-take-care-of-me-i/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“scary mommy confession #80920 " I invited you into my home as a guest. And you brought my two year old permanent markers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/scary-mommy-confession-80920-i-invited-you-into-my-home-as-a-guest/) [jill smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“I think birthdays should be less about celebrating the birth of the child and more about celebrating the fact that we succeeded at keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/i-think-birthdays-should-be-less-about-celebrating-the-birth-of-the/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“See, this favorite child of mine changes by the day. No, by the minute, actually. Who is this favorite child of mine? It’s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/see-this-favorite-child-of-mine-changes-by-the-day-no-by-the-minute/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“Being a parent is dirty and scary and beautiful and hard and miraculous and exhausting and thankless and joyful and frustrating all at once.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/being-a-parent-is-dirty-and-scary-and-beautiful-and-hard-and/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“...I realized that there is no shortage of the love a mother has to offer her children. There is a never-ending supply of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/i-realized-that-there-is-no-shortage-of-the-love-a-mother-has-to/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“I naively thought that when I had kids, my language would somehow clean up, but instead, I found that parenthood gave me much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/i-naively-thought-that-when-i-had-kids-my-language-would-somehow/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [“I’m torn between wanting the absolute best for my daughter and being jealous that she has it so much better than I ever did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/i-m-torn-between-wanting-the-absolute-best-for-my-daughter-and-being/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) [Explore all 11 Jill Smokler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) ## More Bad mother quotes > [As a boy, when I was bad, my mother would chew me out in Spanish. And since I was bad a lot, I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/as-a-boy-when-i-was-bad-my-mother-would-chew-me-out-in-spanish-and/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) > [“I didn't feel like a slut, a bad mother, a terrible person. I didn't worry about my nudity or if he liked what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-didn-t-feel-like-a-slut-a-bad-mother-a-terrible-person-i-didn-t/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“As a teenager, he made screaming noises at night in his room, like a deranged person. He threw his electrical pencil sharpener at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/as-a-teenager-he-made-screaming-noises-at-night-in-his-room-like-a/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“Even if I’m setting myself up for failure, I think it’s worth trying to be a mother who delights in who her children are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/even-if-i-m-setting-myself-up-for-failure-i-think-it-s-worth-trying/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [And that's the insult of it, how always it comes back to a woman being a "good" mother in the world's eyes or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-that-s-the-insult-of-it-how-always-it-comes-back-to-a-woman-being/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Say what you mean to your children and mean exactly what you say about them to the world while keeping in mind they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-pickett/say-what-you-mean-to-your-children-and-mean-exactly-what-you-say/) Fay Pickett > [I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“Social expectations about what constitutes a good or a bad mother haunt every decision, and the rise of the parental advice industry ensures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-expectations-about-what-constitutes-a-good-or-a-bad-mother/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [It was always me and my sister against the big bad world. The world was bad because of our mother. Now that she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-always-me-and-my-sister-against-the-big-bad-world-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Good mothers make all kinds of choices. Making a decision that might sound selfish does not make a woman a bad mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jada-pinkett-smith/good-mothers-make-all-kinds-of-choices-making-a-decision-that-might/) [Jada Pinkett Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jada-pinkett-smith/) > [In reality the world is as full of bad mothers as it is of bad fathers, and it is not the motherless children who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-bernieres/in-reality-the-world-is-as-full-of-bad-mothers-as-it-is-of-bad/) [Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/) > [Around a third of parents still worry that they will look like a bad mother or father if their child has a mental health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-middleton/around-a-third-of-parents-still-worry-that-they-will-look-like-a-bad/) [Kate Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-middleton/) > [I love my husband more than I love my children,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-love-my-husband-more-than-i-love-my-children/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Wanna know something I don't like?? Little girls that have a wonderful home and a loving mother!! And they get EVERYTHING they ask for!!!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisha/wanna-know-something-i-don-t-like-little-girls-that-have-a-wonderful/) [Alisha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisha/) > [“Fear is at the root of so many of the barriers that women face. Fear of not being liked. Fear of making the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/fear-is-at-the-root-of-so-many-of-the-barriers-that-women-face-fear/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) [Browse all 55 Bad mother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-mother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Admitting that this job isn’t always easy doesn’t make somebody a bad mother. At least, it shouldn’t. We’re all on this ride together. 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