Whether men agree or not, Mothers are one the most influential group of people in the world. Since our children represent the future generation, then the women who mold these children, their mothers, deserve to be respected and supported.
As a mother and a parent, you will make decisions that will have a lasting influence on the life of your children and the type of people they grow up to be. Some of the decisions you will have to make are whether you should stay at home with the children or work outside the home, and if you work outside the home, who will care for your child. Let’s talk about the Mom’s that decide to stay home to take care of their family.
Here are five things that will help you meet the challenge of being a “stay at home Mom”:
1. Be reasonable. You may start out with the best intentions and expectations. You probably read all the books on the market before your first child was born. In the end, they may have only added to your feeling of failure and incompetence when things did not go exactly as the books said they should. Don’t buy into someone else’s expectations for you and your child. That will only cause you discouragement and disappointment. Have reasonable expectations for your abilities and the abilities of your children and their growing independence.
2. Simplify things in your life. You need to establish priorities and give more of your energy to the more important things on your list, including the time and personal attention your child needs. Clean out some of the “clutter” in your life. Get rid of the things that are not really necessary to reduce cleaning and maintenance, and give yourself more room, mentally and physically. You may think you can have it all, great career, great family and still have time for yourself. You may even see yourself as the Super Mom, running from one child’s activity to another that requires an endless list of gadgets, clothes and money. You have to determine what is essential and useful to you and help your children to do the same. Don’t try to do it all. Children need to learn everything in life does not revolve around just their activities.
3. Do what you can, don’t worry about the rest. Decide if there are areas that you can improve your life. If you are working outside the home, can you work fewer hours? If you simplified your life, could you stop working outside the home altogether? Is there something you can do from home that would generate an income and still leave you plenty of time for parenting (including the fun stuff)? If your job or career has been a source of fulfillment, you may need to find another means to satisfy that need if you decide to stop working outside the home. When you have made those decisions, live with them and don’t compare yourself to what someone else may be doing with their home, career or family.
4. Don’t try to do it alone. The father needs to have a share in the parenting and the care of the home. With a husband’s help in sharing the housework, you will have time to work on the goals the two of you set together when you decided to be a stay at home Mom. Perhaps you can form or join a support group of other stay at home Moms so you can share ideas, lunches, swap play dates or the like. It is important that you have some adult conversation in your day or you will drive yourself mad and beat yourself up with guilt for wanting that adult exchange.
5. Make time for relaxation. To be successful at being a stay at home Mom, you need to stay balanced. Even though your child’s needs are important, so is your keeping yourself happy and content. That means you need a way to relax. Make time for yourself every day, even if it is only thirty minutes. Train the children to play quietly or nap for a while so you can recharge your batteries. Enjoy a book, some soothing music, working on your hobby, etc. If you do this every day, you will feel like a new person.
Being a Mom can be one of the most rewarding careers available to a woman. If these suggestions are followed, your job as a Mom can be much more enjoyable, successful and satisfying. You can do it! Your child is worth it.
Post a Comment