The modern economy demands both parents to work full-time. If you are a single mom, you are definitely forced to work full-time. You may simply want both a career and to be a mother.
Though difficult, women all over America are maintaining careers as they tend to their most difficult and important job of all, which is motherhood. Taking the right measures regarding your work schedule and childcare arrangements will make it possible to build a career as a full-time mother.
Balancing the Two Careers
Work from Home if Possible
The technology revolution is allowing more people to work from the comfort of their own home. While you will not be able to supervise the every move of your children, working from home allows you to have a more flexible schedule.
You will not need to worry about getting dressed and commuting to and from work, and you will be guaranteed to be close by if anything happens to your children while they are at school.
If your children are old enough to be independent and not bother you while you need to work, you will not have to hire a babysitter. If your children are still young, you may need to hire a babysitter, but you will be an earshot away to know what is going on and take care of any problems that arise.
Invest in Quality Childcare
Many mothers want to avoid daycare due to the concern about strangers taking care of their child and all of the other children in the class. If you must use daycare, the key is to look for a good daycare.
The best ways to make sure a daycare is reputable is to tour the school, speak with all of the staff, ask questions to other parents, check online reviews, and even contact the state to verify that they are licensed and are in good standing.
The best childcare is family members and close friends. If you or your co-parent has retired parents, grandparents, aunts, of an uncle, you can consider asking them to look after your children for a few days a week. You can even hire a nanny so that your child receives one-on-one attention at home and install cameras to make sure that the nanny is doing their job right.
Choose a Career or Work for a Company that Offers a Good Work-Life Balance
If you are in the process of choosing a career, consider careers that offer a schedule that accommodates your children’s schedule. For example, if you become a teacher in the same school district as your children, you and your children will have almost an identical schedule regarding days off and hours on.
If your co-parent works traditional weekday hours, you can become a realtor because you will be working while your co-parent is at home during evenings and weekends.
Even if you are already in a career that does not necessarily line up with your children’s schedule, you can choose a company that offers a better work-life balance than other companies. For example, if you are a doctor or nurse, you can opt to work in an outpatient practice as opposed to a hospital because they tend to operate only on traditional hours.
Make Mornings More Smooth-Sailing
Busy mornings before work and school can be hectic. Having clothes laid out the night before, tote bags and school bags filled, lunches made, and breakfasts prepared will make your morning routine easier.
[Tweet “Being Gentle with Yourself as a Career-Minded #Mother”]Be gentle with yourself as a career-minded mother. There is no perfect way to maintain both a career and a family. Do not compare your life to others. Everyone’s life story, circumstances, and family situation is different. If one way does not work out, do not beat yourself up. There are many paths to happiness and success.
Identity Magazine is all about guiding women to discover their powers of Self-Acceptance, Appreciation, and Personal Achievement. We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity 5 questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.
1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re not talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.
I have accepted that I will never find perfect balance at as a mom, and no matter how others perceive me as a working mom, both being a mom and a professional help me to progress as a woman.
2. Appreciation is everything. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?
I’m grateful for the resilience that my trials have instilled in me. As hard as my trials have been they have helped me empathize with others more and to become a better person.
3. Share with us one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.
Becoming a mother and feeling the love of my children has been the most rewarding experience of my life. That love coupled with a desire to maintain their love and respect is one of my biggest motivators in life.
4. Of course, we all have imperfections, or so we think. In truth, we are all perfectly imperfect. What are your not-so-perfect ways? Likewise, what imperfections and quirks create who you are–your Identity?
One of my biggest struggles is being overly critical of myself. This in a way has shaped who I am due to my efforts to strive for excellence. It can bog me down, but it also helps me picture who I can become.
5. “I Love My…” is an outlet for you to appreciate and express all the positive traits that make you…well…YOU! In fact, sharing what you love about yourself will make you smile, feel empowered, and uplift your spirit and soul. (We assure you!) Therefore, Identity challenges you to complete the phrase “I Love My…?”
I love my desire to help others. I truly do want to help others, and that is something that always helps me when I struggle with self-doubt.
