OutDaughtered's Danielle Busby Opens Up About Her Struggles With 'Mom Guilt'

With a house full of six kids (five of them being 4-year-old quintuplets), a dog, and a husband who frequently travels for work, Danielle Busby is no stranger to chaos. But even the OutDaughtered matriarch, whose "normal" has been full tilt for at least those last four years now, feels that dreaded mom guilt from time to time. 

In one episode of the beloved TLC reality show, Danielle vented some of her frustrations about that particularly unpleasant feeling that comes along with parenting, telling husband Adam, "Sometimes at the end of the day, I feel like it's just been battle all day to the point where like, I feel kinda guilty about I didn't parent well enough today." 

This wasn't a new feeling for her, and mom guilt is also something she's spoken out about on both social media and the family's blog.

The mom of six took to her blog to explain her thoughts on the topic of "mom guilt," where she wrote very honestly about how her kids get on her nerves, but also explained that she tries to remind herself that she's not perfect, either.

"I'm about to be really honest... I love my children with everything I have, but some days they test my last nerve!! They nitpick and fight with each other, whine and complain when I ask them to do 'a chore,' and plug their noses when they see a vegetable on their plates," the OutDaughtered star wrote. "But you know what's harder than dealing with my kids' reactions? Recognizing and accepting that I'm flawed too. Yes, this mama does her best to nurture and love, but sometimes my response is anger, impatience, or harsh words."

But Danielle has a reminder for herself and all those moms out there feeling the same way. She posted a picture of herself to Instagram, surrounded by laundry and donning a shirt that aptly read, "May your coffee be stronger than your toddler," and reminded everyone, "Mom Guilt... There are days I feel like I am failing at this Mom thing, and maybe there are other Moms that can relate. This #FaithfulFriday blog post is a reminder that God says: We are Loved. We are Called. We are Equipped. We are ENOUGH."

While most moms dealing with mom guilt only have their own feelings to grapple with, Danielle is in the public eye so things are a little bit more complicated for her. The Busbys have made a lot of controversial decisions over the years that have brought parent shamers out in droves. They've been slammed for everything from letting one of the quints skip a grade to not removing locks from the kids' doors.

The Busbys have even been criticized for taking some time for themselves to go out on dates. While it's cute when the guilt trip is coming from their kids (Danielle revealed on Instagram that she and Adam can't go out without one of the kids begging them to stay home), it's a different story when it comes from fans. Danielle even took to the family blog to defend the couple from people criticizing them for going out.

"Adam and I get a lot of criticism for having 'too many date nights,'" she wrote. "We whole-heartedly feel like by taking care of our marriage first, we are doing what is best for our kids. One of the essential things that children need is a loving and secure home and to us that need can be met only by making sure the relationship between Adam and I is strong."

Whether it's mom guilt, parent shamers, or just a bad day, Danielle makes sure to keep focused on all of the blessings in her life. "Do you ever just find yourself in a grumpy mood?" she wrote on the Busby family blog. "Sometimes I can't put my finger on the exact cause... maybe just a mix of rollercoaster hormones, a messy house, a long to-do list, and plain ole' exhaustion... but I let all these things contribute to my bad mood and it makes it hard to appreciate the good things in life sometimes! And when we don't appreciate the good things, we focus on the bad."

Danielle believes that the best cure for this kind of mood is gratitude. "It turns what we have, into enough," she said.

The OutDaughtered star added, "Contentment and gratitude aren't identical, but they could be sisters. Contentment is the beginning (and crucial!) to having a grateful perspective. A grateful perspective realizes that God gives us all the good we have, gives him praise for it, and then believe His goodness is enough... it's an attitude of gratitude."