'I Have Just Had Enough': Rant Over Meeting Up With Mom Friends Applauded

Internet users have applauded a rant about time spent with friends who are moms, after gaining viral attention this week.

On Tuesday, a user on the popular discussion site Mumsnet shared their frustrations about struggling to maintain friendships with friends who have kids.

In the post—that has since received more than 400 comments—they explained: "I think as much as having children becomes consuming it's not entirely fair to think you can treat people like c*** or not bother with them on the basis you now have children and expect them to still just take it."

Expressing how draining it is pursuing friendships with friends that now have families, the Mumsnet user explained: "Every meet [up] includes the kids. Without consultation it's just a given now," while also explaining that there is always "some reason why the meeting is problematic."

She also expressed how she felt left out of socializing with other mom friends and dealt with the frequent last-minute cancelation of plans from her friends with children.

"I am just burned out, exhausted by it," they wrote: "There's a line and I think I'm being pushed past it far too often. This has been happening now for years and I have just had enough."

In the comments on the now-viral post, users disagreed with the reaction to their friend's new priorities.

One commenter wrote: "Children are a huge life commitment, you're inevitably a low priority. Increasingly in life adults take on commitments and friendships, as teens, they learn to do that. Once you have real dependents though, friendships are hard to maintain."

Another reply said: "I suppose ultimately it comes down to how much you value them as friends," while one mom shared: "Before I had a child I was really clueless as to the amount of time and effort they take. I appreciate that you want child-free time with your friends but that may not be possible for your friends depending on their familial and financial setup."

"You need to accept it and find new friends op," wrote one Mumsnet user: "Their kids will always be their priority."

It is well-known that new additions can have an impact on existing friendships. A study by children's charity Action for Children surveyed 2,000 parents and found that 68 percent felt cut off from friends after the birth of their child. But where does that leave the child free?

The Mumsnet user isn't the only one left frustrated about being the child-free friend. 35-year-old Franchesca Baker told Newsweek: "I never see them, and when I do it's baby talk. My life isn't interesting to them anymore because I don't have and don't want children. My sister-in-law is fabulous though... She has remained a normal woman with interests outside of her child."

"I remember feeling isolated. Suddenly they weren't available to hang out so much or talk anymore as they were understandably consumed with being a parent," 50-year-old Jennifer Filnt told Newsweek.

She added: "And there always seemed to be an assumption that, because you didn't have children, you couldn't possibly understand what it was like, so they stopped confiding in you about how they really felt about their lives, which caused distance to grow as the deep and meaningful conversations dried up."

Flint recently released her child-free story, Wild Egg, A Story of One Woman's Search For Her Childfree Life, and she said: "I also gave myself a hard time that I was not better at fitting in with their new lives—worst of all being invited to the tedious children's parties or softplay and trying to join in with the fragmented conversations. But I wanted to be friends with my friend, not hang out with their kids."

On Mumsnet, other users also sympathized with the poster. Sharing their thoughts on how things change after friends have children.

"I don't think you're being unreasonable at all," said one reply: "Expecting a friend to be able to meet once every couple of months for a few hours without their child if they have a present and supporting partner isn't unreasonable. Women lose their minds once they have kids, I swear. Everything must be about them."

Another Mumsnet user shared: "I understand. I was late to the party having kids, and, yes, there was a point when I very much felt like the odd one out, and when those lovely gossipy conversations ceased to be about us and began to be about them.

"However. I think you're personalizing something that's not really about you. I mean that in the nicest possible way."

If you have a similar family dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.