Mum's emotional video about 'real life' with children goes viral

An exhausted mother posted an emotional video on Facebook about "real life" as a parent and it resonated with parents worldwide.

Sarah Van Sickle, from Texas, US, posted a video of herself crying in the car while her child was throwing a tantrum in the backseat for absolutely no reason at all.

"I'm so sick of people just showing the perfect side of parenthood on social media," she wrote with the video.

"I'm tired. Mentally and emotionally drained. Feeling like a failure of a mom. Feeling beyond clueless as to why my child has the world's worst tantrums for no reason. Feeling guilty for yelling at him and even more guilty for wanting to crawl in a hole and stay there."

😭🙏 REAL LIFE: This is what a mommy mental breakdown looks like...😔 🤮 I’m so sick of people just showing the perfect side of parenthood on social media, and today was one of the worst days I’ve had as a mom. I’m tired. Mentally and emotionally drained. Feeling like a failure of a mom. Feeling beyond clueless as to why my child has the world’s worst tantrums for no reason. Feeling guilty for yelling at him and even more guilty for wanting to crawl in a hole and stay there. Etc. ☝️ THIS is real life. THIS is the dark side of parenting they don’t tell you about in books. We are NOT perfect. Neither are our kids. We are human. We break down. We cry. We get frustrated. We lose our tempers. We need help. And at the end of the day, we are doing THE BEST WE KNOW HOW. 💙 Feel free to share this with a new Mom or a Mom who feels like she’s losing her everloving mind. You’re not alone, and NONE of us have it together. #MomFail #DoingTheBestICan #PrayersWelcomed

Posted by Sarah Van Sickle Morrow on Friday, 6 April 2018

The mother called it the "dark side of parenting they don't tell you about in books".

"We are NOT perfect. Neither are our kids. We are human. We break down. We cry. We get frustrated. We lose our tempers. We need help. And at the end of the day, we are doing THE BEST WE KNOW HOW."

The mum received thousands of messages from parents who could relate to her despair.

"Sarah, I just want you to know that lately I came across your video and I go through how you feel in this video many times with my children as well. God we love them but some days with them is not always rainbows and sunshine and your right ppl do not show this side of parenting when it comes to social media. Thx so much for sharing your video and stay strong Momma," someone said.

Sarah Van Sickle and her son. Photo / Facebook

"You got it momma! I have been there! I am sure every mother has at some point! Prayers for you," another Facebook user said.

The post has been shared more than 85,000 times in 2 weeks, and the video has been watched nearly 4 million times.

Van Sickle thanked everyone who commented on her video and reminded her that "this is normal".

Are you a parent in New Zealand? We want to hear from you. Join our parenting group on Facebook.