Balancing Work and Family
Few parenting issues involve as much culturally inflicted guilt as when and how (and in some circles, if) a mother should return to work. The headlines for some of the articles included here hint at the anxiety surrounding the topic, e.g. "How Can I Leave My Baby?" Politics aside, working is a necessity as well as a desire for most mothers, and their babies tend to be none the worse for it. Some say mothers who've recently returned to work find that parenting and work skills are mutually reinforcing. Of course, parents can take turns at staying home with a baby. Many families find that a stay-at-home-dad situation can reinforce the father-child bond. Many mothers also believe that exposure to different caregivers benefits their child's social development. There are also creative solutions for those lucky enough to have more open-ended job schedules and work environments. Some workplaces allow women to bring babies to work, while others provide the option of working from home, as detailed in the Mothering.com article.
One article on Salon.com points out that when people talk of working parents, the word "parent" tends to be code for "mother." This carries over to much of the advice available on balancing work and family. Most articles seem to focus on the mother, though presumably fathers also need to balance family and work. The bulk of these articles come in handy list formats — no time-wasting there. One tip applies a successful workplace strategy to parenting: delegate to kids, to your spouse, and hire help if you can afford it. Other tips are basic variations on pre-planning and multitasking, such as laying out clothes for your kids the night before or using your commute for teleconferencing. These tips seem less than comforting, as they essentially point out ways in which parents who are no doubt already juggling several tasks at once can do more of the same. One less stressful tip is to go old-fashioned and maintain a day of rest each week. Those who suggest this say there's payoff in terms of family time and recharged batteries. Many may find consolation in a study that emphasizes that the quality of family life matters more than the quantity of time you spend with your kids.
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