On one hand, you might be excited to go back to work or take up more responsibility at the office—having a career is a wonderful and fulfilling experience. On the other hand, you’re probably dreading leaving your kid at home. What if they need you and you’re not there? It’s always a scary feeling to be away from your kids, but learning how to balance motherhood and work is necessary for some moms. Here’s how you can have a successful career and still get to connect to your kids and provide them with all the love and care they need:
Start with a family calendar
The biggest gift you can bring to your kids is your care. Neglecting your kids is never okay, no matter how busy you are throughout the day. Your main concern should be your kids’ safety and wellbeing. So create a calendar where you can write down every family member’s schedules, appointments and various events. This way, you’ll successfully manage the chaos of family life and work and ensure everything is taken care of. You should also note down nanny schedules, who’s picking up your kids, any family activities and any changes you might have noticed in your family.
Learn to say no
Being a working mom means your time during the day is cut in half by your work obligations. To have enough time to spend with your kids, you need to learn how to say no unnecessary meetings, additional work projects, business trips, as well as PTA meetings and field trip chaperone tasks. Instead, you can spend that time at home with your kids or relax so you don’t burn out.
Make meals extra fun
Meals are a must-have on your calendar, but make sure to turn them into quality time with you and your family. If you’re still breastfeeding, you’ll get to enjoy extra cuddles and contact. If your kids are older, you can still make feeding time into bonding time by preparing food together, setting up the table and eating like a family. If you need recipes for easy meals you can make as a family, consult with other moms through a practical Mumli motherhood app and learn about many recipes. This app allows you to gather tips and tricks on many aspects of motherhood and ask how other working moms manage their time and bond with their little ones.
Focus on bath time
Bath times are not useful only for keeping your kids clean, but they also help your kids relax before bed. This time is perfect to watch your kids grow, while also aiding their development by introducing many new sights, smells and movements. To make bath time extra entertaining, get some bath soap that bubbles. Create a lot of foam and some bubbles and your kids will laugh endlessly with you.
Special storytime
No matter how young or big your kid is, reading them a story is a great way to bond and relax together. Even the smallest of kids who don’t understand the word you’re saying will benefit from storytime read by mom. Listening to your voice fosters emotional bond and development and grows your kid’s vocabulary. To make this bonding time even more special, create a story with their names or order a personalized storybook so your kids can be lead characters.
Share your passions
Kids love to see their parents happy, so the best way to bond with your little ones after you’re finished with work is to bond over one of your passions. If you love to relax after work by reading a book, you can read to your kids or set them up with their own little reading stations next to you. If you love to garden, let your kids help you by watering plants, ripping tiny weeds and playing with soil. If you love to sing and dance, organize a small weekly dance party. There’s no better way to bond but to share laughs and happiness together.
Juggling work and family is definitely not easy, but it’s more than possible. Being a good parent is more about the quality of time you spend with your kids and the care you provide them, not about anything else. So forget about the guilt of being a working mom, focus on your kids when you’re at home and they will grow up with a strong bond with their parents.
