How to be a great working mum by Tracey Godridge and Martine Gallie is a really useful book. It’s aim is to give you the stratergies to help you have a contented baby, a great home life and a successful job. They believe you truly can work and be a great mum.
The book looks at pregnancy , maternity rights, childcare, job options and going back to work. It looks at sharing the load with your partner, it has a chapter on the early years and getting the best from your child, how to behave at work, the school years and the teenage years. It is certainly comprehensive!
Full to the brim with practical and emotional advice, I really enjoyed this book. The tips were realistic and achievable such as the secion on how to negotiate new hours at woek ( plan ahead, remember to say thank you) and how to keep up to date with what is happenin at school (use the school0 website, have friends around for tea and ask open ended questuons to find out wheat is going on, it needn’t be a mysetery! )
It’s a cracking book and a really good friend to the working mum.
Costs £9.99 and available form Amazon (where you can also buy used copies)or do you want to win a copy?
Win a copy of this fab book
Simply tell me in communts what you find tough about being a working mum/dad
For an extra entry sign up to my newsletter and tell me in a seperate comments you have done so.
Best of luck!
T+C’s
Uk entries only pls one entry per person BBudgetings decison is final. Winner picked at random on June 15th 2012.
When I returned to work after having my son just over two years ago I was working a standard 5 day week. I soon realised two days with him wasn’t enough for me and requested a change to shift work, I now work 2 days, 2 nights with 4 off (48 hours per week). I realise Im very lucky to have four days off but find im constantly questioning myself whether working shifts is making me a bad mum, i feel constantly tired, sometimes snappy and wish I had more patience. Unfortunately we have no choice I have to work fulltime I just pray it doesnt sacrifice my relationship with my son and husband.
I find the days really long, up at 5am, work 9-5 by the time I’ve picked the kids up done tea and got them bathed and in bed its 8.30pm. Will then wash up tea things and do cleaning by the time I get to bed its 11.30pm, if i’m lucky both kids will sleep through the night.
Signed up x
I’m returning to work soon – how do I handle calls from the nursery saying I have to come & collect a poorly Pickle which I know won’t be viewed well. Switching mentally from Mummy to employee/co-worker seems a toughie too.
trying to get the kids organised in the morning is hard work. Most of all though i think its the missing them during the day thats hard!
finding time
Just juggling it all with very little support as my family live abroad.
Putting in the hours/workload whilst combining it with the school run.
i find when i come home from a late shift my daughter plays up alot more and dosent settle for bed because she has a feeling im not at home.
lack of time, also guilt of not spending more time with the kids.
Not finding enough time in the day for yourself
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I work from home the majority of a time in a high pressured job. I make a conscious effort to collect my son from school each day but when we return home, I have to continue with work such as reports. I find it very hard to concentrate while keeping my son entertained but don’t believe in him attending after school clubs every day
I have 3 boys (currently on maternity leave with my 3rd). I work full time, and its rubbish. It upsets me that I miss all the things at school, such as nativity plays, concerts etc. Schools seem to forget that parents work and everything is organised during the day so i miss everything. My boys have kinda got use to the fact that nobody is there to watch them, but its so unfair. They are always left at after school clubs till nearly 6, and have most days been at breakfast club since 8. I need to work to support the family, and in my job part time is not an issue. But everytime i get another letter about another school thing the guilt comes in, along with the comment “But why cant you come mummy”.
I find it hard not spending enough time with my son. Although I am only working 16 hours a week, I still feel he is missing out.
Coping with the guilt of being away from them during the day when some friends can afford to be stay-at-home Mums
would love to win this please enter me
I was a working mum of 3. I worked in a special school and felt so guilty not looking after my own children and caring for someone elses! It took its toll and i suffered depression, eventually i came through it all, took a chance, left work and set up my own business which is doing well, still hard work but i get to take my children to school, look after them and be there for them and their special events. The best decision i ever made. x
What i find tough is not being able to pick my son up from school, he goes through to the after school club (which he loves).It does not bother him…but it bothers me. Also for some reason this involves me not getting appropriate letters/forms/event details passed through even though its all the same building. However i am glad i work full time as my son has an excellent quality of life and i will too when i start my years maternity leave in December. Bliss
When i find the toughest is the time im missing being away from my son after i have finished work and picked him up from the childminder is 7pm so i really only get an hour with him to do his dinner bath him and get him to bed, i find that sad.
Also the cost of childcare is so expensive im paying aroung £200 per week
I work great hours which means I am always there to drop kids off at school and pick them up but it does mean that I can never make it to sports day/plays etc, it’s hard explaining to the kids that they can’t have it all ways!
The thing I find most difficult is that haven’t got to know the other mums of the children at school
Having to leave as soon as up and ready to head off to work, then having to cook and clean as soon as we get in, no time for me to spend with my daughter and a tired all the time mummy.
The hardest thing for me is the guilt. I know that my little one loves it at preschool and I doubt she would want to change that but I still feel extremely guilty. x
I am already subscribed to your newsletter but you said to say in a seperate comment for an extra entry…well there you go. 🙂 x
i was heartbroken when i missed my daughters first steps
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No time for myself
I find it hard leaving them, even though it’s only with my mum. I work 2 days a week and I also do work at home, I find it hard to fit it all in!
already subscribe to your newsletter
Not being there when my daughter needs her mummy.
Feeling gulity when they are ill, and trying to work out emergency childcare!
I only work part-time at the weekends but I always feel guilty about leaving my son and missing out on weekend activities with family and friends.
Juggling child care being cabin crew as I do not have set days i work!
I was very lucky and I was able to be a stay at home mum. I cannot believe how tired a working mother must become and I take my hat off to them.
i find it hard fitting everything into just 24hrs, there never seems to be enough hours in the day!!!
its so hard trying to find the balance of parenting and work! im a single working parent to a 2 year old and its exhausting!
Trying to manage my time between work, looking after my son, me time, couple time and housework!
mornings!!!!! not enough moments to enjoy them
Miss my son so much, sometimes I feel bad because I feel like my son is missing out on so much.
After the initial shock of having to leave my son 5 days a week, now to me the worst part is when it comes to home time and my boss ‘just wants this finished off’. That kills me as I know that is eating into my mummy time.
What I find VERY hard about being a working Mum is coming home to my beautiful little girl saying something new or doing something different. I have to take a step back and think “I missed that”. Especially as quick as kids change…it feels like I’m missing out on a million things every week. I hope my little girl is proud to have a working Mum when she’s older..as that might be the only thing to save me from the regret of missing her precious moments.
Trying to get one-on-one time with each of my children is tricky…
The constant guilt!
I was a working mum when I had one child but found that I felt too guilty missing out on all her precious moments and when she was poorly I wanted to be the one to kiss and cuddle her better. When she started pre-school I missed her first day and wasn’t there to pick her up. When I became pregnant with my second child, me and my husband sat down and had a good chat and decided that I would give up work to be a stay at home mum. For me, personally, it was the best decision I ever made. I am now there for every little milestone, every little school event and to hug them when they fall down or feel poorly.
I find it really hard when Boo is porely – we don’t have relatives nearby and it always falls to me to take time off work – my annual leave gets eaten up and then we can’t take a holiday
Organising of rota to pick up , drop of at nursery school is a nightmare 7
just dosn’t fit in with a working life!
After just having a year of work after the birth of my daughter, I am finding it heart wrenching being back at work. I miss my daughter so much and feel I missing so much. She is now a little person with her developing personality beginning to shine through. In my heart of hearts I understand it is probably good for her to mix with others instead of just being with mum, doesn’t make it any easier though!
Division of labour at home.
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Missing my baby so much being at work