An Australian mom on TikTok went viral for voicing her opinion on a longtime controversial internet topic. Sarah Torresan said she’d “rather go to work than stay at home with my kids.” The topic of which job is harder, being a stay-at-home parent or being a parent who goes to work, has divided parents on social media for, well … seemingly forever, and this post was no exception. The caption on her TikTok post reads, “If I had a choice between staying at home with the kids or working after a rough night … I would choose a work day EVERY TIME.”
Torresan made the case for why she’d rather work, listing her own reasons in the now-viral TikTok. She precluded the argument by saying, “OK I feel like I’m qualified to speak to this because I have both working days and stay-at-home Mondays.” She continues saying, “going to work is so much easier than staying home with kids.”
Her reasoning is solid.
Why does Torresan think going to work is easier than staying home with kids? In her TikTok video, she lays out her reasoning starting with, “Here’s why — I get to commute to work listening to a podcast or music by myself. I get to grab a coffee. Walk through the city. I get to go to the office. Have adult conversations with other people. Work using parts of my brain that I haven’t used in a long time.” She also shared that at the end of her work day, she’s missed her kids and is ready to see them.
@imperfectalignment If I had a choice between staying at home with the kids or working after a rough night … I would choose a work day EVERY TIME #workingmum #defaultparent #parenting #mumlife #secret #tipsandtricks #fyp ♬ original sound – Sarz
On the ‘flip side …’
Torresan shared what she calls “the flip side” of the benefits she gets from working, with the struggles of staying home and caring for children. First was the lack of conversation, she noted, “when you’re home alone with kids for days on end you might go days without having a normal human conversation.”
This isn’t the only drawback for Torresan. The constant chaos and noise and needs to be met also make the job of a stay-at-home mom challenging. “… it’s constant conflict. Constant meeting everyone else’s needs, you’re being yelled at for things. You barely get a hot coffee. You barely get time to sit down and think about anything else outside of what needs to be done,” she says.
TikTok users are divided.
Torresan ended her video by saying, “But my point is overnight, whose sleep should really be prioritized?”
Torresan’s post has garnered over 900 comments. Some parents appear to agree with Torresan.
One mom said, “I work part time and it is absolutely a break.”
Another mom said, “Monday-Friday 9-5 is like my holiday.”
“My husband says to me all the time how much harder it is to be at home with the kids compared to being at work all day,” commented another mom.
But not all parents agreed.
“I disagree,” one TikTok user commented. “Mom of 5 here and it’s so much harder to work. I have done both. I have all dang day to get groceries and clean.”
“I’m a teacher and I respectfully disagree,” said another user.
“I so disagree,” one TikTok mom commented. “I missed my daughters first steps and I do so much running around at work.”
Many things factor into whether or not going to work as a parent is easier or harder than staying home with the kids all day according to the comments on Torresan’s post.
Everything from the number of kids a parent has and what type of work the parent does determine which job is harder and for whom. Child care workers and teachers, for example, responded in the comments saying their work does not feel like a break.