Work at Home Childcare
Lorna over at Freelance Parent just announced that she has hired a nanny for her little one so she can focus on work sometimes without having to deal with a baby who needs a lot of attention. I think it´s the smartest move she could have made, personally.
Many work at home moms believe that they should be able to do it all, run a business, look after kids and a husband . . . but the truth is that it just isn´t possible sometimes. Some wahms struggle along on their own, others take the giant leap and hire help.
While I personally haven´t hired anyone to watch my kids, my husband and I have an arrangement. He´s a musician and he used to work as a teacher as well. When I started to earn more than he did, he quit his teaching job to stay home and watch our boys. He works nights most of the weekend, so this is perfect for us.
Not all wahms will have the option of having their spouse look after the kids, and, as Lorna notes on the blog, hiring friends and family isn´t a great option either. But there are other ways to find work at home childcare.
Daycare is always an option. It doesn´t make you a bad mom if you put your kids in daycare . . . though many people will ask why you work from home if you aren´t with your kids. Some moms find it best to have their kids in childcare for just a couple of days a week to let them catch up on those business tasks that are so hard to do with a kid around. In return, your child has the chance to play with other kids his or her own age.
A nanny or mother´s help is a good compromise if you feel your kids should be at home with you. This way, you know exactly what is going on, but the nanny can keep your kids busy and leave you free to work without interruptions. This is obviously more expensive than the daycare option, but ofter you can hire an young person to come over after school and play with your kids for less.
Something you may have noticed with the Motivational Monday interviews is that almost every one of these successful work at home moms has some form of childcare, be it a husband, a mother´s help or daycare. It just isn´t possible most times to get ahead and make your business grow as much as you´d like without a little bit of non-kid time.
What do you think about work at home childcare? Do you use it?
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I like your blog. Great!!!!
I am a host mom to an au pair. Many families with a parent that works out of the home take au pairs. The au pair provides up to 45 hours of childcare around their working schedule no matter the number of children for approx. $340 a week have you ever considered this option?
Since I live in Guatemala and can actually hire someone for around $150 to look after my kids, I haven’t done the au pair solution, though I LOVE the idea of having someone from another country come in and teach them another culture.