WNYW‘s Christina Park wrote a piece for the October issue of Manhattan Magazine about child rearing in New York City. The mother of two detailed her initial naivety about the realities of having kids in the city. The anchor of the FOX owned station talked about initially seeing happy-looking moms and kiddos everywhere, when in reality:
Those happy smiling mommies were actually grimacing as they tried to navigate a deadly intersection like a retro game of Frogger. The skipping is just a grotesque limp from having twisted her ankle in a pothole thanks to kamikaze bike messenger. Clearly the stress of living in NYC isn’t limited to the army of suits downtown. We all feel it.
In the end, Park acknowledged that New York is an amazing, albeit challenging, place to raise kids. What Park didn’t delve into is the fact that being a working mother comes with its own unique challenges, especially in the world of TV news.
We’ve written time and time again about broadcast journalists leaving their jobs to spend more time with their families. The work/life balance is a constant struggle and no one has found the perfect solution just yet. As anchor Heather Van Nest recently put it:
Working until midnight with a 1-year-old son, 3-year-old daughter and husband at home is not ideal. I am eager to explore new opportunities as I continue to search for that unicorn we call “work/life balance.”
A sentiment I’m sure many working moms can relate to.