Devoted mom voices fatigue after kids call on her 404 times a day — shows reality of 'mom burnout'

Amber Jackson (@enjoyingholland on Instagram), a devoted mom, wanted to know exactly how many times her kids called her in a day, not realizing it would cross 400 in less than 24 hours. The astonishing video has over 2 million views online since Jackson posted it on July 3, 2025.

Jackson was so intrigued by watching a mom online record every time her kids called her that she wanted to try it herself. Within a few hours of the experiment, she had her kids call her about 62 times. While Jackson was sharing this very detail with her audience, her toddler barged in, saying, "Mommy, what's wrong?" bringing her count to 63. By 12:30, the count had risen even higher, with her kids calling on her for one thing or another 186 times. Interestingly, every time Jackson picked up the camera to record, one of her kids would interrupt, instantly increasing her count. Until night, the mommy had heard her kids call out different variations of 'mother' about 404 times. "That's how many times I heard 'Mom' today," Jackson said, explaining the staggering number, despite being away from half of her kids for 3 hours. 

"I love my kiddos dearly, but this was such an eye-opening experience as to WHY I am so tired at the end of the day. Why, some days I don’t exactly like my kids, even though I always love them. Why am I so foggy-brained and can’t think straight?" Jackson confessed in the caption. While most women cherish the very idea of motherhood, calling it a rewarding experience in life, we can't really say it's easy. Now, this could be worse if the mothers are working. A study by Care.com found that an average working mom actually works for 98 hours per week, i.e, an unbelievable 14 hours daily. So, it's obvious they often feel 'burnt out' from childcare, balancing work, and other household responsibilities. But, what exactly is "Mom-burnout," or as they call it, "Depleted mother syndrome?" Cleaveland Clinic says it's not something that is medically diagnosed, but is a term to describe the exhaustion that comes along with motherhood. 

"Holding your to-do list in your head is exhausting, too, so the act of managing all of these tasks can be overwhelming, leading to burnout. All that juggling and those mental exercises — and the guilt from not doing it perfectly — result in women experiencing burnout more often than men," said psychologist Amy Sullivan, PsyD. Meanwhile, Jackson's experiment went viral on social media, with many mothers relating to her eye-opening video. For example, @brittytash confessed, "As someone who had to do in vitro to get pregnant (after 8 years of trying) and begged to hear that word... I, too, get overstimulated and exhausted. You can be grateful and exhausted, and I am still SO grateful that they are mine. Two feelings CAN coexist!"

@thegrizzlyforager said, "Wow! That’s a lot of 'moms,' but the optimist in me wants to tell you to cherish every single one of those 'moms.' In the not-too-distant future, you’ll go days, perhaps weeks, without hearing it uttered. And you'll likely miss it dearly. The days are indeed long, but the years are oh so short!" Similarly, echoing the sentiments, @nusiba_b shared, "I understand; it is so overwhelming being needed by everyone at the same time. I wanted to tag my friend, but then I remembered that none of her kids call her Mom because they can’t due to health issues. So I ended up saying to myself, 'We are blessed to be called Mum 500 times a day.'"

You can follow Amber Jackson (@enjoyingholland) on Instagram for more parenting content.