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How do you balance work and family? - ParenThots
Posted by HuiHui
on
10:00 PM
http://parenthots.com/parents_corner/soapbox/balancing-work-and-family.aspx
25 January 2010
Get help
I have two maids so that helps. Basically, the two bigger children are manageable because they know what they have to do before I come back from work, and I try to make sure I come back by 7pm. Then I check whatever they have to do. They have classes, piano, kumon etc. So they finish all that first then I come home and check whatever homework they have or sometimes they wait for me to help them with their homework. I also have to entertain the two younger ones at the same time.
But, during the day I also call them on the phone and tell them 'Okay, now it's time to do this or now it's time to do that'. I also remind my maids what they need to be doing at what time. I try to make sure I am home so that the children see me even if it's just an hour or two before their bedtime so that I know what's going on in their lives. It helps to have other people around to help. When the children were younger I used to leave them with my parents but now that they're going to school they need a sense of stability and they used to forget to bring this homework or that book when they went to the grandparents' house. Otherwise it's too confusing for them. To cope with the tiredness I go to the gym twice a week.
Can you imagine? With four kids now I can go to the gym? I go once during the week and on Sundays when I go with my husband. On weekdays when I go to the gym I make sure I'm home by 6.30pm, I manage the children for a while then I go off to the gym and tell them 'When I come back make sure everything is all done!' And of course by the time I come back they're all asleep. They just need to see me for a bit and then I delegate to my maids again. But you have to do that because it keeps you sane. Otherwise, you're just completely drained. You want to see them in a good mood. You don't want to just be yelling at them because you're stressed and tired. – Maznida Mokhtar, mother of three girls and one boy aged between two and eight years old
Have a routine
It’s always challenging for any working mum to balance working/family life. Being a single parent for the last six years has proven even more tricky for me. Luckily I’m quite an organised person hence I find the only way I’ve coped is having a routine and sticking to it. Children do need routine (whether they like it or not) although I have to say that the routine has gotten harder since my daughter has started secondary school. There’s far more homework and unlike Malaysia, we don’t have the luxury of many tuition centres/ teachers etc to help our children with schoolwork. We have a precision-timing schedule we stick to. So after being an accountant during the day, I go home in the evening where I’m a cook and then a teacher to help with homework. – Indira Ellis, mother of one girl aged 12, from England
Prioritise your time
I set my priorities by trying to have quality time with my child. For about one hour without disturbance of TV or the phone, I concentrate on finding out about his daily activities and homework. When our son was small, my husband and I divided the chores and ensured that one parent was always with him if the other had to work late or was out of town. - Norasikin Kamis, mother of one boy aged 13
25 January 2010
Get help
I have two maids so that helps. Basically, the two bigger children are manageable because they know what they have to do before I come back from work, and I try to make sure I come back by 7pm. Then I check whatever they have to do. They have classes, piano, kumon etc. So they finish all that first then I come home and check whatever homework they have or sometimes they wait for me to help them with their homework. I also have to entertain the two younger ones at the same time.
But, during the day I also call them on the phone and tell them 'Okay, now it's time to do this or now it's time to do that'. I also remind my maids what they need to be doing at what time. I try to make sure I am home so that the children see me even if it's just an hour or two before their bedtime so that I know what's going on in their lives. It helps to have other people around to help. When the children were younger I used to leave them with my parents but now that they're going to school they need a sense of stability and they used to forget to bring this homework or that book when they went to the grandparents' house. Otherwise it's too confusing for them. To cope with the tiredness I go to the gym twice a week.
Can you imagine? With four kids now I can go to the gym? I go once during the week and on Sundays when I go with my husband. On weekdays when I go to the gym I make sure I'm home by 6.30pm, I manage the children for a while then I go off to the gym and tell them 'When I come back make sure everything is all done!' And of course by the time I come back they're all asleep. They just need to see me for a bit and then I delegate to my maids again. But you have to do that because it keeps you sane. Otherwise, you're just completely drained. You want to see them in a good mood. You don't want to just be yelling at them because you're stressed and tired. – Maznida Mokhtar, mother of three girls and one boy aged between two and eight years old
Have a routine
It’s always challenging for any working mum to balance working/family life. Being a single parent for the last six years has proven even more tricky for me. Luckily I’m quite an organised person hence I find the only way I’ve coped is having a routine and sticking to it. Children do need routine (whether they like it or not) although I have to say that the routine has gotten harder since my daughter has started secondary school. There’s far more homework and unlike Malaysia, we don’t have the luxury of many tuition centres/ teachers etc to help our children with schoolwork. We have a precision-timing schedule we stick to. So after being an accountant during the day, I go home in the evening where I’m a cook and then a teacher to help with homework. – Indira Ellis, mother of one girl aged 12, from England
Prioritise your time
I set my priorities by trying to have quality time with my child. For about one hour without disturbance of TV or the phone, I concentrate on finding out about his daily activities and homework. When our son was small, my husband and I divided the chores and ensured that one parent was always with him if the other had to work late or was out of town. - Norasikin Kamis, mother of one boy aged 13
