Working Parents

It is hard if you have to leave your children to bring in money to pay the bills but the reality is most families can’t survive on just one income. The cost of bringing up children seems to be rising each year, with food, clothes and childcare costs rising.

It is normal for mums to work too, but this means that the cost of childcare has to be part of the budget. It is important that you are providing the best childcare that you can afford, it is not always easy to balance the cost of the childcare and the money coming in. There has to be some benefit for the family monetary wise, for the decision to be worthwhile.

Companies are offering working parents flexible hours

It is important that companies realise what a mother can give to the local economy as well as to her family. While it is difficult sometimes to juggle the extra pressure of working, the money and the adult conversation can help with isolation that mothers can experience who don’t have strong friendships or close family.

Companies that offer a more flexible working schedule benefit too, from working parents that are able to have the time they need to focus on their children. It gives them greater respect for the company and it can also increase their loyalty to the company.

Home care

It is no surprise that working, fitting in normal household routines and caring for children is difficult. There is more washing, more rooms to clean and this does become difficult if both parents are working. Statistics reveal that the greater responsibility of the household chores still fall on to the mother even though she could be working outside the home too.

Mothers are often the first parent contacted if the child is poorly, meaning her job is the first one to suffer because of family life. Society pressures parents and especially the mum, but a father can do just as good a job of looking after their own child too.

How often as a mother are you saying sorry; for the little things that you want to do, you want to be there for your child, not to miss an important event, but if you are working then somewhere there has to be flexibility to allow the absences. However, there is often another side to the story where they don’t want to let their colleagues down, and they don’t want to think they aren’t needed at work. Meeting this balance is difficult for every mother and many fathers, who want to be there for their children but to pay the bills they need to work too, being working parents is difficult.

Organization helps; it can help you ensure that everything is ready and in the right place, it can ensure that you leave home on time keeping you and your life on schedule. What is important is the need to understand the need to balance your life accordingly, by saying no occasionally, if it is only for your sanity.

Planning where you need to be before an event helps to keep the stress under control. If you have an understanding partner who can help you around the house, sharing the responsibilities is great; otherwise, you can teach your children to help with some chores.

There is no right or wrong way of dealing with the fact that many families need more than one wage coming in and this can affect the way a home runs. Family life is changing and it is becoming more acceptable to have a job outside the home for both parents, and dealing with the added pressure this can bring.