When it comes to being a working parent, we wonder if your work schedule reflects your values? Perhaps you work a 9 to 5 job and that works for your other family values. Some working parents have found that they’re working overtime for endless hours and missing out on the family time they truly need in their life.
When it comes to being a working parent, it’s all about balance. You want to have a schedule that reflects your values while allowing you to pay the bills. Finding a job that fits your values is hard enough, especially right now, but we’re confident you can work to ensure that your job reflects your values.
Continue reading to hear how you can adjust your schedule to reflect your values or at least start the conversation about whether this is the right job to have as a working parent, or not!
What are your Values?
You’ll need to figure out what your values are. Is being home for dinner with your family a must? Do you want to make sure you can attend every event your child has? There are things in life that you simply don’t want to go without experiencing and that will help you determine what your values are. Family values are something you may have already established and simply slid off track as you continued to take on jobs that felt best for financial security.
Evaluate your core values as a working parent. Determine if your job fits this mold. Make a choice to adjust your work schedule and family life so that both blend well to help you continue making your values a priority.
Drop the Guilt
Now that you’ve evaluated what your family values are and whether the job you have is a good fit, it’s time to drop the guilt. Being a working parent is simply part of the deal. You need to have a stable income coming into the home to financially support your family. The kids have needs that must be met, such as food, clothing, and shelter. This means that you’ll have to find a good balance between being a working parent and holding true to your values.
Stop feeling guilty about missing some events, if you’ve determined missing some events is worth it. Stop having mom guilt about making your teenagers cook dinner so that it’s ready when you get home. These are things that are helping your family learn the same values you’re holding yourself to. Sometimes being a working parent helps instill more values within your kids than having a parent home that does everything for them.
Get Trusted Cargivers
If you’ve taken a long look at your work versus the values you hold and find that the two don’t align perfectly, but you still have to keep your job then consider getting trusted caregivers. The people who will spend time with your kids while you’re at work will help instill the values you hold dear. This could mean having your parents watch the kids and tend to their needs when you’re otherwise engaged in work duties.
It does take a village to raise a family so make sure your village has similar values as you do so that the kids are still benefiting from your values while you’re being a working parent. Often times working parents will have their spouse, best friends, and parents help with care for their kids to ensure the kids are being taken care of in a way that matches their family values.
Find Balance
Lastly, we want you to learn to find balance. Being a working parent is hard enough without worrying about whether your kids are going to be alright. We’re going to let you in on a little secret, “your kids will be just fine!” Now that you know how to remove mom guilt, evaluate and determine the values most important to you and have a village of supportive caregivers helping with kids, you’ll need to simply find a balance between work and parenthood.
Sit down and make a schedule that helps you juggle working parent duties with at-home parental duties. This may mean you start delegating at-home tasks out to your older children and spouse. Working together as a united family to ensure that you feel balanced between work and family values will help you be more productive at work and present at home.