CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Local 10 is taking an in-depth look at “mom guilt,” a feeling many mothers say they experience daily.

Nicole Gonzalez Cumberbatch, who runs The Motherhood Village, said the feeling can be constant.

“I have my days,” she said.

She described the challenge of balancing a career, parenting and personal time.

“How do I balance loving my career and what I built over 20 years to make to now be mom and all the things,” Gonzalez Cumberbatch said.

The Motherhood Village operates as an indoor play center that also offers workshops and community events aimed at supporting families.

“We have a lot of community events, and really keeping to the mission of The Motherhood Village,” she said.

Gonzalez Cumberbatch, a mother of an 8-year-old who is over the age of 40 and expecting her second child, said she previously worked in corporate finance as a vice president before shifting her focus.

“So I come from the corporate space. I’m a managerial accountant by profession, and when my son was born eight years ago, I was a very high level executive,” she added. ”I was VP of finance, so there was a lot of pressure to get back to work."

Gonzalez Cumberbatch said seeking help was misinterpreted.

“And then when I asked for help, I lost, you know, they took it as a sign of me resigning,” she said.

Gonzalez Cumberbatch said that experience led her to rethink her identity and career path.

“That took me on this path of trying to find my identity again,” she said.

She said she now focuses on supporting other mothers, though she acknowledges the emotional challenges that come with it.

“I used to go to every support group and we’re running on three years now, and then handling the guilt on the other side of things,” she added.

Gonzalez Cumberbatch also shared a personal example of how that guilt can show up at home.

“My son has literally told me, he’s like, ‘You’re always at the Motherhood Village. You care about the Motherhood Village more than me,’” she said.

Dr. Claudia Vicencio, director of outpatient behavioral health services for Memorial Healthcare System, said those feelings are common among mothers.

“It’s just this constant sense of, like, I’m not being enough. I need to be doing more but not really knowing what to do with it. What does more look like?” she asked.

Vicencio said mothers often feel they are not meeting expectations, even when they are.

“It’s like you’re not enough but you absolutely are enough,” she said.

She encouraged parents to step away from perfection and focus on connection.

“It’s giving ourselves permission to not be perfect it’s giving ourselves permission to realize that our kids they don’t need a superhero they need someone who’s present,” she said.

Vicencio said small, intentional moments throughout the day can make a difference.

“We know from science that there are like three times during the day that have a lot of impact on kids the morning when we reconnect with them at the end of school or work and at then and the bedtime,” she said.

“It really is simple it’s what moments of connection can I build in throughout my day,” she added.

She also emphasized the importance of self-care and reframing negative thoughts.

“The other thing is making time for self-care how do we take care of ourselves,” she said.

Mom guilt is often described as a persistent feeling of shame or inadequacy mothers experience when they believe they are not meeting their own or societal expectations.

Vicencio said many of those expectations are shaped by long-standing social roles.

“I think as women were brought up to take on and to be a caretaker to be a caretaker means I’m focused on other people’s needs instead of my own and it might have worked at some point but I don’t think it works anymore,” she said.

She suggested a cognitive shift to help manage those feelings.

“It’s what we call in psychology a cognitive reframe. How do I change that guilt so instead of feeling like, ‘Oh my God, I’m taking time for myself, that’s, you know, I’m not being there for my kids,’ it’s understanding that if I’m taking time for myself, that means that I can be a better parent for my kids,” she said.

Gonzalez Cumberbatch said she applies a similar mindset with her own children.

“And when you want something right now, I’m trying to plant seeds for whatever dreams he has,” she said. “There are times where mommy is going to be able to be there for XYZ. And there are times mommy’s not,” she said.

She said that perspective helps ease her guilt.

“And in my mind that lessons the guilt because I’m like, if anything he’s learning like, well, she really wants this,” she said.

Despite the challenges, she said she focuses on gratitude.

“I think I’m just living in gratitude,” Gonzalez Cumberbatch said.

“I’m doing what I love. I get to support families,” she said. “I love being a mom.”

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