My Food and Drink Blog

Being a work-at-home mom isn’t easy. You have to meet deadlines, edit documents or spreadsheets, attend to phone calls and emails from work, meet work-related targets, and that’s just work-wise! When it comes to the household, you need to manage all the chores, attend to your husband’s and children’s needs, and run things as smoothly and efficiently as possible. So, it won’t do if your children don’t cooperate, and delay you, or if your husband’s moods fluctuate and prevent you from working. You must realise that it’s essential that you have a good support system to back you up.

Make sure your kids understand why you have a work-at-home job the first place. These are tough times, the economy’s changing, and a little extra money is always welcome. Tell your kids that you are supplementing the family income, that it will pay off, and everyone’s lives will be far more comfortable. Once your children realise the advantages of your working, they’ll be more supportive, letting you work in peace, during work hours. Make sure they aren’t neglected. Give them colouring books, building blocks, jigsaw puzzles – activities to occupy themselves with. Allow them to watch television, but not in uncontrollable amounts- too much mindless viewing affects cerebral development. If and when the work pressure is high, hire a baby-sitter.

Secondly, ask your family to help you around the house. When you have a work-at-home job, you’ll be tired from work, and you’ll need your husband and your kids to help you with the chores. You could ask your hubby to boil the pasta, your older child to grate the cheese, and the younger child to lay out the vegetables. Once everyone realises the tasks to be done, and how they must be done, getting into the groove will be easy. It’ll also be fun- we guarantee you. So not only are you getting help from the family, you are bonding with everyone!

Your kids will appreciate you more if you don’t shout at them constantly for making noise when you’re working. You must learn to adapt yourself to environments. Your sons might be playing a rather noisy game of basketball just outdoors, but so what? You should still be able to handle your work without losing your cool. If you can be with your children during work hours, even when they’re playing or rough-housing, you will have wonderful support from them.

Do things together – this will increase your appreciation of each other, and increase the strength of the support system. Take a little break, but finish off with all pending work first – do some family travel – go for a small, simple vacation- you, your husband, and the kids – somewhere quiet, where you can rejuvenate yourself, bond with your husband, and spend time with your children. Go shopping together – help your children select the girls’ clothing and boys’ clothing, and if you have a baby – the baby products. In each other’s company, you will realise the joys of being part of a family all over again!

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