A mom has already solved three problems nobody else knew existed before the week even starts. The permission slip, the missing left shoe, the fever before the thermometer. Ask her how she knew, and she'll probably shrug — she just did. Because that's what moms do. She learned it by showing up, every day, for the people she loves most. Not because it's glamorous. Not because anyone noticed. But because her family is her why — and that why has a way of making the impossible feel completely worth it.
This Mother's Day, we think that deserves more than flowers.
The Mental Load Is Real
There's a name for what moms carry, and it's called the mental load. The running tally of who needs what, when, and how. The vaccine schedule. The shoe sizes. The fact that one kid suddenly hates strawberries and the other one only eats them if they're cut a specific way. It's the cognitive labor of anticipating needs before they become emergencies — and research published in the Archives of Women's Mental Health found that this kind of cognitive labor falls disproportionately on mothers and is linked to higher rates of depression, stress, and burnout.
Translation: the thinking part of running a family is real work, and it's mostly landing on her. The problem isn't that moms are doing it. The problem is that they're often doing it alone — and it doesn't stop when she walks into the office. It runs in the background of every meeting, every deadline, every commute. The permission slip is in the bag, the shoe is found, and she's still the one who remembered both.
What Happens When Mom Runs on Empty
Here's the part nobody puts on a Mother's Day card: maternal wellbeing is a known predictor of parenting practices, attachment, and child development. Which means how mom is doing has a direct line to how her kids are doing.
A mom running on empty has less to give — and that's not a character flaw, that's just how humans work. So taking care of mom isn't a luxury or a slogan. It's part of taking care of the whole family.
The most useful thing a working mom can do is stop trying to figure this out between meetings.
The Information Overload Problem
There's a specific exhaustion that comes from being the family decision-maker in 2026 — especially when you're also working and managing a career. Parenting questions don't wait for a free afternoon. They show up between meetings, during lunch, at 11pm when the day finally goes quiet.
Sleep training is the perfect example. It's not medically complicated, but the internet will give you four philosophies, six methods, and approximately a thousand opinions on which one will ruin your child. What moms actually need isn't more information — it's a real person who knows pediatrics, knows your kid, and can actually answer the question. "There are no questions too small at Poppins. The reassurance is just as important as the diagnosis — sometimes more so," says Mary Clare Zak, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Poppins. "That's what Poppins is built for: a real clinician to walk you through it, whether the answer is 'totally normal' or 'let's get this checked out.'" That's the gap Poppins is built to fill — not just answering questions, but giving parents a team they can trust to help them carry the load.
How Poppins Actually Helps Carry the Load
We're a pediatric team built for the way modern families actually live. Which means we're not trying to replace your pediatrician — we're trying to be the team that fills in the gaps your pediatrician can't always cover. Here's what that looks like in practice.
When You Have a Question and Can't Wait Three Hours at Urgent Care The cough that's been hanging on. The rash that showed up overnight. The "is this normal" symptom you've been turning over in your head all afternoon. Poppins providers can answer pediatric questions on demand — without the urgent care wait, the parking, or the copay for something that turns out to be totally fine.
When the Internet Is Making Sleep Training Worse, Not Better Sleep is one of the most loaded topics in early parenthood — and it's also one of the most personal. Our team can help you cut through the noise, talk through what's actually working and what isn't, and build a plan that fits your kid and your family. Not a generic protocol. A real conversation with someone who knows what they're doing.
When the Behavior Stuff Has You Spiraling The tantrums. The defiance. The bedtime that became a negotiation — on a Tuesday evening, before an important 8am meeting the next day. You've asked ChatGPT, you've tried things, and somehow you're more confused than when you started. A Poppins parent coach cuts through that — real strategies, for your actual kid, from someone who's seen it before. Stop the spiral. Get a plan.
Celebrate Mom with the Gift No One Buys Her: Peace of Mind
Flowers are nice. Brunch is delicious. But what most moms actually want — if you ask them honestly — is to not have to figure everything out alone this week.
That's what Poppins is. On-demand pediatric providers who answer the question without a three-hour urgent care wait. Sleep guidance from clinicians who give a real recommendation, not a shrug and a list. A team that treats mom like part of the equation, because when she's supported, her whole family is.
This Mother's Day, the most meaningful gift isn't a spa day. It's backup. Someone in her corner when the symptom question is nagging at her, when she's tired of second-guessing the sleep training, when she just wants to stop holding it all by herself for a minute.
That's peace of mind. And it's the one thing nobody ever thinks to wrap in a bow.
A Note to the Mom Reading This
You are appreciated. The way you love your family — the showing up, the remembering, the noticing, the staying up late to make sure everyone has what they need — none of it goes unseen. Even when it feels like it does.
The one who answers emails and remembers to pick up the prescription at the local pharmacy and still shows up fully for both — you especially.
You should outsource what you can. You should have a trusted source to answer your questions. And you should have a parenting team that shows up for you the same way you show up for the people you love.
Happy Mother's Day from all of us at Poppins!
TL;DR Moms carry the mental load — the cognitive labor of anticipating and planning for the whole family. Research links it to higher rates of stress and burnout, and maternal wellbeing is directly tied to child outcomes. Supporting mom isn't a luxury, it's part of taking care of the whole family. The best Mother's Day gift isn't flowers — it's backup. That's what Poppins is for.
Something to sit with: What would actually change for you if you didn't have to figure everything out alone?
Join Poppins Today
You don't have to navigate the hard stuff alone. Whether it's sleep questions, a symptom you can't quite figure out, or just something you've been meaning to ask — Poppins coaches and clinicians are here for it. Book a session, bring your partner, make it a team effort. Poppins is too easy for dad not to help carry the mental load.
