The Struggles of a Working Parent: How to Make Both Ends Meet
As a mother of two kids, one being a six-month-old and one being a four-year-old, my daily struggles lie in managing my time between my children and my career. Our present situation demands both parents to work to make ends meet for our families. A study conducted by the Australian Government Institute of Family Studies showed that the number of working couples with children aged eighteen and below has constantly increased. While in our minds, we know that our priority must be childcare and our children’s early development, this is often sacrificed due to our job demands and our families’ growing financial needs.
An established childcare center, Revesby, can address the growing demand for facilities where parents can leave their children in a secure place while at work. While these are of great help, what should we do to show our children a meaningful presence despite the limited time we spend with them after work?
The Struggles of a Working Parent: How to Make Both Ends Meet
#1. Play
We hear this quite a lot, but do we recognize the importance of play in early childhood development? It helps our children develop communication and is a great way to practice their decision-making, problem-solving skills, and leadership. My firstborn, who is a 4-year-old, loves to do pretend play. I remember when I took him to a bath, he pretended that his dog toy was drowning; he immediately said, “Mom! Marshall is drowning! I am on my way! And he picked up his ball, threw it to the basin, and shouted, “Marshall, hold on tight to this ball! To my amazement, I did not realize I was playing the role of Marshall as the drowning dog.
It was just a five-minute moment with my son. But it was genuine. It was happy. It was exclusive for us. Our children do not measure how much time we spend on them, but how we spend it with them. Spend those simple moments with them and enjoy.
#2. Limit those gadgets away
With the advent of technology, many of us resorted to using gadgets in parenting, especially when we need to extend our work at home. I do not deny doing it, especially for my toddler. But I limit the screen time and still try to communicate with my son as much as possible, even in front of the TV. A simple conversation could be, “Son, I like that attitude of Ryan! He was nice just like you!” my son would say, “Yeah, I like Ryan too!”. Not only do I acknowledge that my son is starting to establish his preferences, but I was also able to reiterate the excellent behavior I observed in what we were watching.
#3 Remember that they are not children forever
I cherish those simple moments with my children by always remembering that time flies fast and that they are not children for a lifetime. They will soon outgrow my lap, and in the future, I will be asking for their attention. Those thoughts break my heart, but at the same time, they make me linger on the time we spend together and make it the best short moments possible.
Enrolling your child in a childcare center in Revesby should not be a distressing experience. You should instead feel good about it because, as parents, we only want the best for our children, and childcare centers complement our strategies to achieve the optimal development of our little ones.
