Why itsmotherswork?
Because of all the many – often conflicting – things that mothers are supposed to do and be; the labels that adhere to us, and the ones we seek to transcend. What does mothers’ work mean to me?
I am interested in pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, parenting. Things you might expect a mother-blogger to be interested in. I have children (14yo, 12yo, 9yo and 6yo) who live with me and my husband (DH) in The Shoe, our boxy little Thames Valley home. I sometimes blog (and more often tweet) about “Life in the Shoe” – things homely and domestic.
But the personal is inevitably political. What is “mothers’ work”? Far more than the activity of mothering. Few families can live well without both parents taking on paid work outside the home and the shoe-dwellers are no exception. My work in public service over two decades has steeped me in traditionally “feminised” areas such as early years, education and children’s services and this for me is mothers’ work too.
It doesn’t stop there. Who can bring children into this world without caring about the type of world they have been brought into? The state of the planet they will inherit; both the physical environment and the moral environment matter.
I am responsible for the four children that are “mine” but through my work I have a shared responsibility for several tens of thousands more, and through the simple fact of my humanity have a joint responsibility – with you – for the future of the children of the world. So this mother’s work is politics, it’s social justice, it’s public service, and it’s children’s services, and simple daily parenting too.
itsmotherswork
itsmotherswork 
I just wanted to say a huge THANKS for your blogs and tweets which I am following with huge interest and an eagerness to learn. I am starting my first year of the MASW at Durham in two weeks and working hard to give myself a good grounding bfore I start. Your writing (and that of others on twitter) along with signposted articles/web pages, is providing me with such a rich source of thought provoking information that is fueling my eagerness to succeed and become the best possible SW I can be. I know you are going to continue to be a huge part of my studies over the next two years. Thanks again Sarah Laws
What a lovely comment to receive! Thank you so much for taking the time to feed back. I love how enthusiastic you sound, and your excitement about your training. With that attitude you should do really well. The social worker and social work educationalists on Twitter are a fantastic support and resource. I’m not social work trained myself (but I now work closely with and manage social workers within the services I’m responsible for), so I’m learning all the time too. Their friendliness and openness has been brilliant.
If you haven’t already discovered these Twitter accounts, can I recommend: @forNQSWs, @swinduction @SWBookGroup @swscmedia and @SocialCareHour. Not to mention @socialcarecurry for the food and @SUFSWs for the craic.
🙂