I took a conference call with a potential new client in my car the other morning. It was six in the AM but I still knew that I needed to be out of ear shot of the sleeping kids in case they woke and heard me. They woke up and couldn't find me and S. had to put a movie on. This wasn't the first time I've taken a work call in my car. I've created this, I know that I have, I mean I guess I have? They weren't always this clingy but now that I don't go to an office everyday they expect me to ALWAYS be there.
Z. starts school in September and we are considering if we can afford it, doing 3 additional half days at another preschool, as the local preschool is only two days a week. I also think that a babysitter a few days a week would be better for M. than to go to school yet and would also help me with the new baby when I have to pass her off for a phone call or when she's more than just a sleeping newborn down the road. But at the moment I need to escape the house every time I need to do work unless they are napping. And I can't run to the nearest cafe with my newborn. Which means M. will have to adjust to my being home but not being with him. Does this happen?
There was an article floating around Facebook the other day about a mom who was arrested in South Carolina for letting her nine year daughter play in the playground behind the McDonalds while she worked. I kept thinking that there was a catch to the story, like it was after dark or something. There was not. It just boggles my mind the lack of support there is in this country for families, working parents, single mothers. Particularly if you are a poor single mother, trying your best. How do families cope? How does a single parent cope without the proper support? Childcare is impossibly expensive. A woman working at McDonalds makes less than what a babysitter would cost per hour.
We are struggling with it all and have the advantage of being employed, having savings to fall back on and dividing childcare between us. But we can't move forward without additional help and we can't afford additional help at the moment. I need to add clients in order to afford the childcare I need to be able to grow my business but I can't do that if I have two toddlers demanding my attention all the time.
In my mother's generation there were so many stay at home moms in our neighbourhood that they created small playgroups. Let's say there were five children per group that meant that every morning save the one you hosted you had a couple of hours to yourself while your kid was at the alternate house having playgroup, to do your errands, housework, whatever you needed. And these were women who weren't doing traditional paying jobs outside of the house but keeping the family and home together. They also had babysitting groups and would alternate babysitting for each other's kids so that the couples could go out or whatever they needed to do. I found a lot of playgroups in London which are great of course to socialise the kids and get out of the house for a bit but it didn't help the mom who needed a couple of hours to herself even to unload a dishwasher.
We don't have a lot of screen time at our our house which I've mentioned before, we don't have a TV only our iPad and computer so we watch movies. And I feel badly putting a movie on for a distraction but sometimes it's impossible to do anything like unload the dishwasher, cook dinner, do a load of laundry, without resorting to it. I can't imagine how mothers without the resources I have cope. There is a lot of advice for parents on what they should and should not be doing and how modern parents are all ruining their kids but there isn't a lot of constructive information on how to cope when there isn't an alternative for burned out, overworked and unsupported parents. What am I missing?
Z. starts school in September and we are considering if we can afford it, doing 3 additional half days at another preschool, as the local preschool is only two days a week. I also think that a babysitter a few days a week would be better for M. than to go to school yet and would also help me with the new baby when I have to pass her off for a phone call or when she's more than just a sleeping newborn down the road. But at the moment I need to escape the house every time I need to do work unless they are napping. And I can't run to the nearest cafe with my newborn. Which means M. will have to adjust to my being home but not being with him. Does this happen?
There was an article floating around Facebook the other day about a mom who was arrested in South Carolina for letting her nine year daughter play in the playground behind the McDonalds while she worked. I kept thinking that there was a catch to the story, like it was after dark or something. There was not. It just boggles my mind the lack of support there is in this country for families, working parents, single mothers. Particularly if you are a poor single mother, trying your best. How do families cope? How does a single parent cope without the proper support? Childcare is impossibly expensive. A woman working at McDonalds makes less than what a babysitter would cost per hour.
We are struggling with it all and have the advantage of being employed, having savings to fall back on and dividing childcare between us. But we can't move forward without additional help and we can't afford additional help at the moment. I need to add clients in order to afford the childcare I need to be able to grow my business but I can't do that if I have two toddlers demanding my attention all the time.
In my mother's generation there were so many stay at home moms in our neighbourhood that they created small playgroups. Let's say there were five children per group that meant that every morning save the one you hosted you had a couple of hours to yourself while your kid was at the alternate house having playgroup, to do your errands, housework, whatever you needed. And these were women who weren't doing traditional paying jobs outside of the house but keeping the family and home together. They also had babysitting groups and would alternate babysitting for each other's kids so that the couples could go out or whatever they needed to do. I found a lot of playgroups in London which are great of course to socialise the kids and get out of the house for a bit but it didn't help the mom who needed a couple of hours to herself even to unload a dishwasher.
We don't have a lot of screen time at our our house which I've mentioned before, we don't have a TV only our iPad and computer so we watch movies. And I feel badly putting a movie on for a distraction but sometimes it's impossible to do anything like unload the dishwasher, cook dinner, do a load of laundry, without resorting to it. I can't imagine how mothers without the resources I have cope. There is a lot of advice for parents on what they should and should not be doing and how modern parents are all ruining their kids but there isn't a lot of constructive information on how to cope when there isn't an alternative for burned out, overworked and unsupported parents. What am I missing?
