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Tips to Balance Work and Hands-On Parenting

Wondering how to balance work and hands-on parenting?

If you are a working mom, you may find the idea of hands-on parenting difficult to achieve. However, even if you are going back to work at the end of your maternity leave, you don’t have to abandon your child. If you prepare, you can still stay on top of everything at home.

Learning to balance work and hands-on parenting is HARD but these tips helped so much!

4 Tips to Balance Work and Hands-On Parenting

Consider Alternatives

Take some time to think about why you are working. Is it because you enjoy it? Does your household need the money? If the thought of working and balancing parenting demands stresses you out, consider alternatives. Perhaps you can quit your full-time job and take on more flexible freelancing work. Or you might be able to cut back on household expenses so you can get by on only one income. You might take a bit more time off of work to test the waters. One option for helping your household get by during this trial run is to take out a personal loan to help cover your expenses and spread out the repayments over time. You can also rely on your savings as you make these adjustments.

Getting Support

If you still feel that working is the right choice for you, it’s important to get support as much as possible. Don’t buy into the idea that you can do everything. Instead, think about what is important to you and how you can get help from others to achieve this. Perhaps you will work with your significant other so your work schedules allow at least one of you to be home most of the time. If you have an extended family, they may want to offer their help. They can be a support net to help you get by. If you are feeling overwhelmed by responsibility, ask your family members if they are willing to help. They may even be able to take your child for a bit while you get work done.

Creating Routines

You may feel guilty about not spending as much time with your kids as you would like. Work obligations can feel like they detract from your bonding, but your kids will remember the routines you created, even if you didn’t spend every waking moment with them. Perhaps you will read a bedtime story. Or you might make a point of doing something fun on the weekends, like a special breakfast. Know that your kids will remember everyday moments, like learning how to ride a bike, going to the playground, or taking a Saturday evening walk in the park.

Consider Parenting Objectives

It’s easy for parents to fall back on the way they were raised, since these are the parenting styles they are familiar with. However, this can come in conflict with the way your significant other wants to raise your kids. It’s a good idea to sit down and explain what you would like for your kids. Think about how you would handle different scenarios, like when the kids misbehave. This will help you present a more unified front to your children when the need arises.