I’ve found these last few months of mothering hard. Mostly because I’ve had to be more than a Mum, and a wife, a daughter and a Bonnie’s family worker – I’ve also had to be a teacher. 

In this last year, mothers everywhere have had to homeschool their children and it hasn’t been easy. But I know I was one of the lucky ones – I had the support of my family, partner and our school. 

For many of the women who come into Bonnie’s, I am their only support. 

One Mum I worked with really struggled, she was a single parent with baby twins and a 7 year old who has ADHD. Mum couldn’t speak or read English and had only been in the country for 2 years. She had experienced severe abuse from her ex-partner and left in the middle of lockdown. With no family or any connections in Australia, she was starting from scratch.

Her precarious visa status meant she wasn’t eligible for Centrelink so with no income, her means for food are only $50 vouchers. We were able to help her into temporary accommodation, but that still meant moving and changing schools twice or three times.

But what worried Mum most was her 7 year old falling behind at school. 

Mum’s lack of understanding of English, 2 toddlers and a 7 year olds energy meant jumping on zooms and doing class lessons wasn’t easy.

I kept telling her, “You’re doing your best”, “Being safe is what matters most” and “This will pass, and school will start soon, don’t worry.”

I realised, I had not been giving myself that advice, and this woman had had many more hurdles than I did. But I resonated with her – she just wanted the best of the best for her kids. 

She was putting her kids before everything else. 

Mum’s are amazing. Through it all, all the ups and downs and challenges, we just want them to be safe, happy and do what kids do!

Mum and the kids are happy and safe now, and now that school is back the 7 year old is happy at school. I rang her the other day and asked her how it was going and she said: “Things are much better and I feel hopeful. I’m grateful for the time with my children.”

Written from a conversation with Nguyen.

Image via Istock.