Who’s taking care of Mom? – Program for Young Mothers
Ms. Tierra Bank listening to participants responses during the presentation.
Who is asking me what I need or how I’m feeling? Who do I feel emotionally safe with? Who is my tribe, my village of support? These questions and more were explored on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 as part of WFWP USA’s program for young mothers: “Who’s taking care of Mom? Creating a community of support for mom’s emotional needs.” Twenty-two moms of young children, as well as a few grandmothers, heard from Ms. Tierra Banks, certified Mother-Daughter Coach and Founder of Mended Relationships, LLC as she shared many pointers and insights on how we can make sure we remain whole and filled up in heart so we can give our authentic selves to our children.
As a mother herself and coach to many more mothers around the country, Tierra shared that the women she helps all have a deep, common root: a woman with unmet needs. However, it is a disservice to our children to remain as a self-sacrificing, emotionally deprived, exhausted, frustrated, devoted mother. So how can we meet those emotional needs?
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Starting from defining our emotional needs as things which are essential and important, Ms. Banks described the well-known Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. While many of us will often have our basic safety and physiological needs met, we usually get stuck in the mid-level of the hierarchy: in the needs of belonging, having intimate and loving relationships, feeling a sense of accomplishment and esteem, and reaching self-fulfillment or self-actualization. This happens, she explains, when we are serving our families and raising our children to such an extent that we become emotionally exhausted and our own needs are not also being considered. That prevents us from reaching our full potential, including as mothers.
In order to discover how to recognize and articulate our needs, Tierra outlined several poignant questions to ask ourselves as well as three key tips. First, identify your own spiritual principles—such as love, patience, gratitude, faith—and trust in those. Second, listen to your body, soul, and mind. Often our own bodies will tell us physically when our needs are being met or not; trust your intuition. Third, rely on your village of support. We can tend to put on our capes as “supermom”; however, sometimes God will bring a person to your life who is supposed to help you take that cape off for a moment. Take help when it comes. The key takeaway? “God is so intentional that whatever we lack as mothers another woman will have in surplus.”
As WFWP Founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, has said, “Mothers truly represent the heart of God.” We encouraged all mothers to take care of themselves, seek to remain full in God’s love, and support each other’s spiritual and emotional needs. This program for young mothers is just one of what we hope will be many more. If you would like to help support more empowering and educational programs for mothers, please consider making a donation to WFWP USA.
If you would like to find out more about programs for mothers and watch previous videos please visit out site at: https://www.wfwp.us/yomo?rq=mom