Common difficulties that working moms face

Prior to 1970, most families were supported by one income, and that person was the typical male head of the household. Women who did work were generally employed in lower paying clerical and sales jobs. Career options for women have increased greatly over the past forty years. Many now enter professions that were exclusively reserved for men, such as medicine, law, accounting, and engineering.

Changing economic conditions have also made it more difficult for families to manage on only one income, making it necessary for most moms to earn a significant income. Working moms, however, still face difficulties that men don't.

For one thing, women and minorities still confront "the glass ceiling", which means they are still not being considered for executive management positions over their male counterparts. As a result, an increasingly greater number of women have chosen to become entrepreneurs. Owning a small business, however, generally requires working longer hours-including week-ends. This is most difficult for single mothers, who have less time available to spend with their children. As a college professor, a significant percentage of my students are working mothers; some of whom are single. Surprisingly, they are often my best students because they tend to be highly motivated. They do, however, tend to miss more classes than other students because of childcare issues..

Another issue facing working mothers is that many husbands still believe their wives' working careers should take a back seat to their own. Working mothers are expected to perform the majority of household chores, as well as oversee the bulk of the child-raising. This has led to increased tensions between spouses, and ultimately, an increase in the divorce rate. The ones most hurt by this, however, are the children.

Finally, there is the disparity in income between men and women. Although the gap is narrowing, women still earn less than men. This places an additional burden on single mothers, in particular. They are often forced to work second jobs to support themselves and their children. This results in their children having reduced parental attention and supervision.

Working moms are still faced with issues that are largely the result of the inability of society to change with the current times. Women still hold a small minority of executive management positions. Single women with children face an even greater uphill struggle for consideration for career advancement opportunities in the workplace, because employers believe working mothers would be too distracted by attending to their children's needs. Employers will have to be more sensitive to the needs of working mothers, or risk losing many valuble employees.

Source: Leslie Schwab(Helium)

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Hints for the working mother

Being a working mother comes with a unique set of challenges. The working mother must balance not only her duties at work but also her role as a mother and primary caregiver. It can be difficult to feel focused on work when you know that your little one is in the care of another person.

There are some hints that can help the working mother make life easier for herself and her child include:

• Finding adequate childcare early. One of the most stressful aspects of being a working mother is finding childcare. If left to the last minute, the new mother can find that she has to settle for whatever is available. Instead, she should be researching and interviewing potential caregivers early in her pregnancy. Another tip is to have a back-up plan in place in the event that your caregiver isn’t available one day. Many people will turn to a family member to provide this occasional last minute type of care.

• Saving sick days for when the child is ill. Many people take advantage of the sick day policy their employer provides. They will stay home whenever a small cold erupts. In the case of a working mother it’s most advantageous for her to save those days for when her child is ill. The child will feel better knowing that their mother is close, while at the same time the mother won’t have to face a day of worry about her sick child.

• Change your work hours if possible. Many employers are now recognizing the benefit of accommodating the schedules of working mothers. Some women have requested a 4-day workweek in which they work extra time each of the four days in order to have the fifth day off. Others have decided to work at home part of the time, while being in the office just a few days per week. Many employers are open to these types of suggestions and it certainly doesn’t hurt to inquire at your work.

Working mothers can certainly make time for both their career and their children. It can take some help from the father and other family members, but it is possible. It’s very important for the working mother to always keep her priorities straight. Becoming a mother is a wonderful time in the life of any woman but it certainly doesn’t mean that a woman has to give up her career aspirations. With some much-needed balance and a clear idea of what needs to be accomplished a working mother can thrive in all areas.


Source: Gianna Lazarou (mb.com.ph)

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Working Mom Vs Stay-at-home Mom

To be a stay-at-home Mom or to be a working Mom, that is a dilemma families have struggled with for over a half a century. Never has the decision to stay home presented such a quandary as now with the state of our economy.

If the truth be told, all Moms are work-at-home Moms. Cooking, cleaning, groceries, shopping and laundry, these are thankless tasks but without these chores the household would come to a grinding, and dirty halt. These chores can be particularly difficult for Moms who work outside of the home, unless of course, they are able to afford to hire help to come in and perform those tasks. Unfortunately, for too many Moms who work out side the home, that luxury is not an option. They more than likely start the day at 5am, get the children ready, make the stressful commute into work, spend 9 hours away from home, make the stressful commute back, pick up the children, feed her children and husband, spend precious little time with her family, put the children back to bed, take care of as many chores as she can and around mid-night she crawls into bed to get some sleep just to start it all over again. I know because I did it.

The question of whether or not to stay at home is a difficult one. The issue of spending quality time or quality/quantity time with your children is not usually the only consideration. More time than not, it also encompasses the quality of life for the family.

More and more Moms are opting to be stay-at-home Moms with a stay-at-home Mom business. There is work for stay-at-home Moms. These are legitimate business opportunities for stay-at-home Moms who want to contribute to the household financially too. The opportunities range from selling products and services to just being the middle person and not see the product or service at all. Stay-at-home Moms can stay at home, work from home, choosing their own hours, spending quality time with their children, taking care of their home and contributing substantially to the family financially. Every eleven adult woman owns her own business. Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men. Women own 9.1 million businesses and contribute $3.6 trillion to the economy yearly.

Home Businesses for stay-at-home Moms are easy to find. There are numerous opportunities out there. Most of them are Internet drive. When looking for a stay-at-home business consider the following:

Explore home-base business opportunities before you commit to one. Do your homework. Read all the companies information so you will understand the business and how it works.

Do an Internet search on the company to see if there is negative press. Remember that anyone can put anything on the net. Use your own business savvy to decide if it is a one-time complaint by a dissatisfied customer or is it a real problem that people are having with the company. Check with BBB.com (The Better Business Bureau) for complaints.

Always consider a business that you have an interest in and a passion for. The how can be learned.

Choose a home business that has the potential to provide you with the life style you desire. Avoid a home-based business that will turn into another job robbing you of hours and hours. Your goal is to have more time with your family and friends. Don’t give up too quickly, give your business a chance to grow and prosper.

Be persistent and stay focused. Value your time and money.



Source: Lee Roseboro (ArticleDashboard)

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The Working Mom’s Survival Guide

Working moms often feel like they’re running two different rat races. When they’re at the office, they’re worrying about reports, meetings, deadlines, and what to wear at this evening’s cocktails. When they’re at home, they’re balancing checkbooks, checking their kids’ homework, fussing over a child’s Halloween costume, and planning what to serve for Saturday’s dinner with the in-laws.

It’s exhausting, stressful, and ultimately, confusing. Things fall through the cracks. “Oh, was it my turn to bring cookies to this month’s PTA meeting?” “Oh no, I forgot my mother’s birthday!” “What do you mean, you need a costume for tomorrow?”

Here are some tips to keep working moms on track:

> Keep a consolidated planner. While most working moms will have a business calendar, with meetings and deadlines carefully plotted, they often forget to include personal appointments like vaccination schedules, birthdays of relatives, or soccer practices. Instead of keeping your family calendar and office planner separate, keep your notes in one place. You can use color coded pencils or, for greater convenience, use a digital or online planner so you can revise your schedules neatly and efficiently.

> Don’t trust your memory. Even the most organized working mom will be hard-pressed to remember everything that needs to be completed in a given day. Leave reminders where you can see them, and where you’re most likely to look even when you’re at your most frantic. Stick post its on the dashboard of your car or bathroom mirror, not on the already overcrowded bulletin board. Tape an important document on the inner lid of your briefcase. Or better yet, set up your digital planner to send email reminders or create pop up windows on your desk top.

> Never overbook. If you find that your task list has spun out of control, and your meetings tend to overlap, then it’s a sign that you’re not allotting enough time for delays or obstacles. If you think you’ll need just one afternoon to complete the report, allocate two just in case someone schedules an emergency meeting. Then, delegate the tasks that you won’t have time for given your more realistic schedule.

> Resist the urge to do everything. Working moms, let go of the Superwoman Myth! Not only is it impossible to do every single thing, you shouldn’t. You need quality time—with your child, your partner, yourself—and that means letting go of the tasks that aren’t important. Can you enlist your sister to bake the cookies for this Saturday’s PTA conference? That gives you an extra hour to cuddle with your toddler instead of slaving in the kitchen. Can you cascade information through email instead of setting up a meeting? You save yourself (and everyone else involved) an hour where you can finish another report or clean out your files.

> Pencil in that “Me” time. When you’re stressed out and busy, you tend to put yourself last on the list, just to be able to keep up with your responsibilities to other people. This is the worst decision you can make. The busier you are, the more you need to recharge, even if it’s half an hour soaking in the tub, or sneaking to the parlor to get your toenails painted pink. Work hard, but play hard too—you deserve it.


Source: Philip Nicosia (ArticleDashboard.com)

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5 Exercise Tips For The Working Mom

While you are raising a family, sometimes the pressures of daily life seem overwhelming. You have kids to get ready for school, housework, meals, laundry, illnesses, not to mention your job if you work outside the home! "When the heck am I going to have time to workout?" That is a question I hear regularly, and I can relate to that because I am a working mother myself. Sometimes it is just impossible to stick to a regular fitness routine and the preparation of healthy meals.

That being said, I try not to let everyday stress become an excuse to not get my regular exercise in. We all have 24 hours in a day, so we need to find some time during that period for some form of exercise. Part of your daily routine includes a shower and brushing your teeth. You would not go without those, so if you make exercise part of your daily routine too, it will become a habit. A great habit! It is just not right to use lack of time as an excuse to avoid exercise. If you are afraid to get started, or just not sure how, then read on, I think this will help you.

Just remember, even 20 minutes a day is better than nothing at all. Here are five tips to help you get started.

1. Find a friend to workout with: Working out alone is not always an enjoyable experience. However, if you have a friend workout with you, chances are that you will start loving your workouts because you will also have that social interaction! Also, seeing your friend working out will motivate you to continue with your exercise program. The other benefit that comes with working out with a friend is accountability. If you know your friend is counting on you to meet her at the gym, you are less likely to use the excuse "I don't feel like it today."

2. Workout to Music: Take an IPOD with you whenever you hit the gym. This is a great way of kicking the boredom out of your workout routine! When I work out to music, I find it more enjoyable because I am not really concentrating on how hard I am working, but actually listening to the music. Upbeat music works great when you are doing cardio. Softer music when you are stretching or doing yoga. Most gyms today have TVs too, so if you have headphones you can plug in and watch your favorite TV show while on the treadmill!

3. Do what you love: It becomes a lot easier when you find certain exercises that you love to do. If there are exercises that you absolutely despise, do not make them part of your routine. You will get bored and quit. Instead, mix it up a bit, but make sure you are working every area of your body.

4. Start it slow: If you have never exercised in life, it is only natural that you will be afraid to hit the gym. When you first begin to exercise, you do not have to do it daily in order to lose weight. Instead, try to take it easy: start by working out only for fifteen to twenty minutes per day, for two or three days a week. As your body gets accustomed to your new workout routine, you can scale up the intensity of your workouts! Trust me, you will feel so much better when you start to incorporate fitness into your daily routine.

5. Work out at home: If a gym membership is not in your budget, that's okay. You can purchase some really good exercise DVDs and get started at home. You can still invite friends over to work out with you for added fun and support. We offer some beginner to advanced DVD choices on our website.


Source: Kimberly Clark (ArticleDashboard.com)

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Tips for Working Mothers

Fulfilling the role of Mom while also holding down a job can be dizzying. But with a little planning and family cooperation, moms can make routine tasks easier, get family members involved and helping instead of asking for things, and reduce everyone's stress level. Try these tips out.

Teach Cleanup

Do you clean up toys, hang up coats, stow shoes, pick up laundry and make beds? Then stop it right now. These are things even 3-year-olds can do. When you come home, ask politely for everyone to hang up their coats and put away their gloves. Explain to kids that dirty clothes go in the hamper and clean clothes go back in the drawers. Show them how to neaten their beds. Resist the urge to fix or fold after they are done. After all, they're learning and helping, so don't discourage them or make them feel they did an inadequate job.

Delegate Chores

Ask your kids/spouse to help you. At mealtimes, small children can set the table, older ones can serve drinks, and everyone can help bring plates to the table. Teach kids to clear the table, how to get their own cereal and how to load the dishwasher. Have children take out the trash, teach them to use the laundry machines and have them put their own clean clothes away. Grant points or make a sticker chart as rewards to show your kids how much you appreciate their help.

Plan Your Morning

Mornings will go more smoothly if you do some things the night before: Pack lunches (or have kids make their own), lay out clothes, ensure homework is done, pack backpacks and check the calendar for after-school plans. Teach kids to get themselves ready in the morning by putting up a wall chart that lists "brush teeth," "make bed," "get dressed," "eat breakfast" and whatever else they need to do.

Schedule Quiet Time

Have each family member spend five or 10 minutes alone when everyone gets home. This gives you all time to calm down and regroup before getting dinner ready and discussing the day.

Plan a Work Schedule

Don't let work pressures eat into your family time. If you often work late, talk to your boss or coworkers and figure out a way to leave at 5 p.m. on certain days. Cooperate with your spouse to make sure you're prepared if one of you must work late. This way, your family will know certain days are family dinner days or one-parent nights, and they will learn to cherish those times together.

Plan Meals Ahead

Make only one shopping trip per week to buy ingredients. Get a cookbook that contains easy-to-prepare recipes. Double a recipe and freeze half for another meal. When you're making a salad, make double and save half for the next night. Keep lasagnas or other one-dish meals in the freezer for nights when you don't feel like cooking. Designate your most hectic night as order-out night and get pizza or Chinese food. Have the kids make dinner one night a week if they are old enough.

Schedule Quality Family Time

Strive to have a family dinner as frequently as possible. Plan a family movie night once a week. Plan a group outing for the weekend. Take the whole family to a child's sporting event.
Make Time for Yourself

Moms tend to put themselves last on the list, but regenerating your own inner strength and peace will go a long way toward giving you the energy you need to be a mom. So take care of yourself: Go to the gym, visit a museum, meet a friend for coffee, join a book club or work on your hobby. Make a deal with your spouse allowing each of you one night a week to do your own thing.

Be a Couple

Get a babysitter once every two weeks, or whatever is feasible, and go out together. It doesn't have to be fancy. Even a trip to the bookstore will help the two of you remember what it's like to be adults together.


Source: Alyson Preston (Monster)

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Stress Reducing Tips for Working Moms

More and more mothers are returning to the workforce when their kids come of school age. Some moms never stopped working and have had to learn to juggle home and career. Here are some tips to help working moms to lighten the stress load.

Working moms are those mothers that work outside the home and inside the home. While working moms outside the home may work more hours than the moms that work inside the home, the home-working moms must divide their time between care for the children and their clients. For both, these two worlds provide pressures that can lead to a stressful life.

Working moms have the social interaction that comes with a job in the workplace. They talk with other adults and get away from home for a few hours a day. While work does offer the adult interaction they need, it also introduces a new stressor into the mix.

Work-at-home moms are struggling to find their identity at the same time that they are raising the kids. The spouse still works outside of the home which means that most of the household needs are met by mom as she juggles her business. The new business, while bringing fulfillment, can be another source of stress.

For both types of moms, one tip for stress relief is to exercise. Exercise prepares the body for anything, including attacks from stress. Mornings are usually best for moms because they can get their physical activity out of the way. Mom can also exercise with their kids. Put the baby in a stroller and walk or jog around the neighborhood. Play games with the kids to work up a sweat.

Enlist the help of other family members. Spouses and older kids are not mind readers. If you want help with the chores, ask for it. Give the kids a list of chores to do. Make a chart and tape it to the refrigerator if you need to. Ask your spouse to watch the kids for a few hours when he gets home so that you can have time to yourself.

Hire out for certain jobs. Have a maid service come in and clean for you. It may only be once or twice a month, but any time at all is a big weight off your shoulders. Hire a neighborhood kid to cut the lawn. On the days when your business workload is heaviest, why not use a mom’s helper. She will occupy the kids while you conduct meetings, run errands, and do other business related things. The person you hire should be someone you trust who is good with kids.

Leave work at work or in the home office. Whatever pressures you have with clients or coworkers, decide to deal with it during work hours. Dragging this baggage into your home life does nothing good for you or your family. Worrying all night when the problem will still exist the next day is futile.

Return to work on a part-time basis. Working full time may be stressing you too much. The financial side may take a slight hit, but you will make up for it with peace of mind. Talk to your spouse and share your concerns before making a decision together.
Working moms have added stress from their jobs, whether they work at home or in a work environment. Easing that stress is crucial to keeping the family life in harmony.

Source: Busy Moms Online

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How To Be a Working Mom

The term “working mom” seems a little redundant because ALL moms are working moms, whether or not they earn a paycheck. For the purpose of this article, though, we’ll be looking at those who juggle both the responsibilities of motherhood and paying jobs.

Balancing a career with a happy home life may take a little planning and forethought, but women who make the effort to put together a success strategy find that they really can have it all!

Step 1. Find safe, reliable daycare. Knowing that your children are well tended is essential to being able to focus on your work, so do all that you can to find a daycare situation that makes you feel secure. There are a number of options available, including day care centers, home daycare providers, and private nannies. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks; only you can decide what type of situation works best for your family.

Step 2. Ask for and accept help. There was a time when working moms seemed determined to do everything themselves, but today’s smart moms know that there is no shame in asking for and accepting help. Even the kids can and should help out around the house—and when chores are done together, they can be fun. Consider things that your children might enjoy, such as raking leaves or gardening.

Step 3. Set limits—and stick to them. There is only so much that any one person can do, whether at work or at home, so working moms would be wise to set some boundaries so that they don’t find themselves overwhelmed by all that they’ve taken on. A clean house is great, but it doesn’t have to be spotless, and even the best employees need not make themselves slaves to their jobs. As far as kids’ activities, let them enroll in one sport or activity at a time—not only is this a good way to avoid having the kids be over-scheduled, it’s much easier for parents to attend all of their children’s activities.

Step 4. Be flexible. With kids comes a certain amount of unpredictability, so moms need to be willing to make adjustments as they go along. Yes, kids need consistency, but when things don’t go as planned, smart working moms are ready to switch to “Plan B.” Those who are juggling both a family and a career truly need to be able to laugh off the inevitable mix-ups.

Step 5. Remember what they say about “all work and no play…” When kids look back on their childhoods, they should remember plenty of fun times. The daily demands of modern life can keep working parents so busy that they may forget what it is that they are working for. Working moms (and dads, too!) should take some time to play with their children in order to build lasting bonds.

Step 6. Let go of guilt. In an ideal world, all children would be fed a perfect diet of wholesome foods. In the real world, life gets busy, the fridge is sometimes empty, and dinner sometimes gets burned. An occasional fast food meal isn’t going to hurt anyone, so working moms shouldn’t beat themselves up if they get dinner from the drive-through every now and then.

Step 7. Take care of yourself. Working moms (all moms, really) tend to give to everyone—often to their own detriment. Taking time for exercise, hobbies, or even a bit of pampering can help moms to recharge and energize so that they can meet the demands of family and career.


Source: Elizabeth Grace (HOW TO DO THINGS.com)

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