Hilary Duff Is Every Working Mom Who Has Dealt With Hand Foot Mouth Disease
The ‘How I Met Your Father’ star felt guilt leaving her sick one-year-old at home while she headed to work.
No matter how you slice it, it’s hard to go to work and leave your sick children at home. They want you to care for them, and you want to be at their side — but, most times, duty and a paycheck call. Actress Hilary Duff feels for all the working parents who are struggling to prioritize their jobs over their kids.
On her Instagram Stories this week, Duff, 34, revealed that she was experiencing guilt over leaving her 16-month-old daughter, Mae James, home with hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) while she was busy on set.
“I haven't been able to be with her all day because I'm at work,” she said in the relatable post.
HFMD is a highly contagious virus that presents as sores in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet. According to the CDC, the illness is usually not serious but spreads quickly at schools and day care centers.
"None of my other kids have ever had hand, foot, mouth, so I've never seen it before and that looks awful," Duff shared, continuing, "I love my job so much but this is just a little shoutout to working parents who have to leave their kids in times that don't feel natural, and it kind of goes against everything in your body to not be with them in times like that."
The How I Met You Father star went on to praise working parents, but admitted it felt “so weird” to not be with her baby.
"You're doing a good job, just like I know I'm doing a good job in working hard for my family,” she told followers who felt a similar way.
Duff shares Mae and 3-year-old daughter Banks Violet with husband Matthew Koma. She also has a 10-year-old son, Luca Cruz, with her ex Mike Comrie.
In another Instagram Stories thread last year, Duff admitted that balancing the needs of her three children was tricky at times, especially when her energy levels were low.
"So heartbreaking when you hear that like, 'Can you play with me?' And you realize that you can't split yourself in half or in threes sometimes," she said. "And you also realize you haven't had enough caffeine to do all the things, and you're just like [peace sign]. That's mom life."
Duff admitted to having help, but still feeling completely worn out sometimes. (Most parents totally get it, Hilary.) Still, during a recent interview with Romper, she did admit to maybe wanting to add more kids to her brood.
“It’s psychotic, I know. We might be,” Duff said. “I don’t know. I love being a parent with Matt.”
Godspeed!
