Work Life Meets Parenting Life
Parenting is work. No matter how much we love it, it is still work.
Cherylyn Feierabend
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Work Life Meets Parenting Life
Hey there! You’re listening to the Mighty Mommy with some quick and dirty tips for practical parenting.
Parenting is work. I bet any parent listening to this show is nodding in agreement. I love being a parent. It’s one of the things I always wanted to be when I grew up. So, I’m all grown up now, or so they tell me, and I have my dream job. I’m a mommy. I also have a part-time non-mommy job and a small company of my own. I keep busy. But, enough about me, I want to talk about you and all of the other parents out there who are trying to balance being a parent with all of the jobs, volunteer work, and other non-parenting related activities in which we participate.
Whether you go to an office, school, store, factory, or any other type of business to do your job, or even if you work in the privacy of your own home it’s still a challenge to balance work life with parenting life. There are many things you can do to help keep the balance, but remember, it won’t always be perfect and that’s OK. If you are a parent, you know there is always the possibility for chaos. I have some suggestions that may help you to keep your days running a bit smoother.
As I mentioned earlier, parenting is work. No matter how much we love it, it is still work. For many people it’s a full-time job. For some of us it’s a full-time job that we do while also doing other types of work. The most important thing you can do to keep your sanity is create a schedule and then adhere to it as much as possible. There is always a chance that life will throw you some spontaneous curve ball, but if you’ve managed your time well, you’ll be able to handle an unexpected change better than if you don’t have any plan at all. When you build your schedule, include time for your children, your spouse, your friends, and yourself. Even if you can only grab 15 minutes a day of quiet time for yourself, schedule it in. It’s more likely to happen if it’s planned. If you can make a family schedule that includes social time, chores, fun-time, and that ever-important mommy-and-daddy time, everyone will benefit from it. Children and spouses can check the schedule to find out if and when you will be available and they can let you know if a scheduling adjustment is needed.
Making sure that everyone helps with the household chores is important. If one spouse works outside the home and one works at home while taking care of the children, that doesn’t mean one of you works less. Try to find a balance that works or at least chores that each of you hates the least. If there is a chore that everyone detests, make a schedule and take turns. Since both parents work in my household, one of the rules we’ve come up with is that whoever gets out of bed last or gets to sleep in the latest, is in charge of making the bed. Now, I know that making the bed is a very easy task, but it’s nice to know that if I get up with the kids before my husband, one little nicety I’ll enjoy later that day is going to my bedroom and seeing the bed already made. It’s a small luxury, but a luxury to me, nonetheless.
Now, I have two suggestions that may seem to contradict each other, but I believe in them both; one is to keep yourself educated. Make time to read. Read fiction, non-fiction, or magazines that have content interesting to you. It’s important to feed your brain even when your lunch sometimes consists of the crusts of someone else’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Don’t tell me I’m the only one. Now, my contradictory tip is to make time to give your brain a break once in a while. Watch some light TV or movies that won’t give you something to think about. So, throw on some reruns of Mork and Mindy or pop in a DVD of Grease or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and zone out for a bit. You may not be able to fit in a movie every day or even once a week, but even 30 minutes of wind-down-turn-your-brain-off time can refresh and recharge your over-worked mind.
Finally, I think it’s very important to have at least one person in your life to whom you feel comfortable venting. It’s better if this person is not your child or your spouse. Talk to a friend who is willing to listen. When your friend is having a similar moment, be sure to be there for her as well. It’s great to have someone listen, but it’s even better when that person can listen, tell you that she understands, and you actually believe her.
That’s it for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed the show. Thank you for listening.
If you’d like to request a topic for the Mighty Mommy you can e-mail me directly at mommy@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email.
This is your friend the Mighty Mommy wishing you happy and fun parenting!
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