How to help a mom connect with her kids?

[melissa p]

I have a friend who has recently had some emotional problems. She has some young kids, and she recently talked to me saying she doesn't know how to connect to them. She takes care of their basic needs but she spends a lot of time on the computer. Maybe she's addicted to Facebook? She doesn't seem to have a lot of energy to play with her kids, though she does read to them. She says she wants to be a good mom, and be there emotionally for her kids, but doesn't feel supported or capable.
What can I say to her to help her?

[lela]

She could play games with them like duck duck gosse tag go outside ect

[MariMother]

There may be organizations in your town that can help with this better. Most of them come in and help parents plan activities for their children, offer resources to playgroups, check on where the children are developmentally, and overall offer a cheap (and often times FREE as they work on a donation/medicare basis) method of assistance for parents who need it.
If you go to your local social services website, they probably have links available for groups such as that, to get in to contact with.

[chi]

You could ask why she's so tired all the time, though if she has an addiction to using a computer then it's probably because she's staying up late at night on the internet (though that's just a guess), and combined with taking care of her kids.. That's allot of strain to put on one person (assuming she's a single mum).

Fathers usually play differently to how mothers do, fathers take risks like swinging their kids higher on a swing set, or spinning them faster in his arms. Maybe her low energy combined with the way mothers bond with their children isn't enough.

Single parent's just have to learn to be both a mum & a dad.