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BEST OF 'THE WORKING MOM'S SHRINK'

          Each archived issue of MAKING BREAD contains a column called “The Working Mom’s Shrink,” written by psychologist Dr. Marcia Eckerd. In it, she offers advice to working moms struggling to stay sane as they juggle the responsibilities of their jobs and their families. Think Felicity Huffman’s Lynette Scavo in ABC’s Desperate Housewives.

            “The major guilt trip for all working moms is: ‘Am I ruining my children for life because I’m not there for them?’ Eckerd says in one column. “We lose precious sleep, beating ourselves up over that question. Then we wake up and spend too much money, trying to make up for our lack of presence in their lives with stuff.”

            Not a good idea, she points out in “Can’t Buy Their Love.” “Remember that old Beatles’ song ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’?” she asks. “If you’re a working mom. You need to make it your anthem.” She learned that lesson the hard way. Recalls Eckerd: “I remember overhearing my daughter, when she was 4, whispering loudly to a friend over the phone, ‘Just beg. It always works’.”

            Below, we feature a roundup of the best of Eckerd’s “The Working Mom’s Shrink” columns. Click on each link to download a column and pass it on to your friends. Join the MAKING BREAD conversation by e-mailing editor@makingbreadmagazine.com with your comments. Share your experiences—the good, the bad and the really ugly—balancing work and family, and we’ll post your comments here.

Can’t Buy Their Love:

Spend Time, Not Money, to Show Them You Care!

How Not to Go Broke This Holiday Season:

Keep Your Emotional Spending Under Wraps

What If Your Kids’ Teachers Were Grading YOU?

How Working Moms Can Get an A in Parent-Teacher Relationships

Are Your Office Hours 24/7?

A Cure for the ‘Working from Home’ Blues

It’s Fun and It’s Free—So Why Aren’t We Doing It More Often?

Sex Tips for the Overworked and Financially Stressed

Could Your Relationship Survive on One Salary—Yours?

The Strain of a Spouse’s Layoff Can Test the Strength of the Best Marriages