05-01-2020 03:53 PM
Late last year I started a new full time job, so my husband and I both work in the city, and we have 3 children. I have been working from home during Covid-19, but when we head back to the office, I want to hear from other households and what strategies, help, they find works for them to help with the balance as I found it really stressful. After school care finishes too early. The one brief time of using an afterschool helper, was frustrating as I felt I couldn't get her to do all the things I REALLY needed her to do (like what I would do!). Any advice/help/suggestions would be appreciated.
05-15-2020 12:19 PM
Hi @mcinparis
Thanks for posting and sorry we've taken a while to get back to you.
Juggling a full time job and three kids does sound like a lot. Managing a household is a full time job in itself.
I'm wondering - how old are your children? and does your husband help out much around the house and with looking after the kids?
If you're husband doesn't help out then it might be worth having a chat to him, and explaining to him that you need help. After-all, you are both working full-time, and it's unfair if you're the only one doing all the chores/baby-sitting.
I'm not sure what your relationship with your family is like, but it might be worth asking your parents or your parent-in-laws to baby sit the children once or twice a week. Or perhaps they can help out with other things like dropping off the kids to school, or picking them up, or cooking a meal for you. I understand however that this may not be an option for you.
Another idea might be asking your children to do certain chores on the weekend, to take some of the pressure off. This depends on how old they are though. If they are old enough, you could potentially get them to do some cleaning or cooking. It doesn't have to be a lot but even the smallest things can help a lot. You might look at putting the music on on a Saturday and getting some of the housework done together as a family. A good thing about doing this is that in addition to helping you, it actually teaches them how to be independent for the future. We have more about fostering independence in children in this article here.
I'm not sure if your work would allow it, but you may even want to ask them if you can work from home a few days a week. It can really help to do chores throughout the day while you're working, and you'll save travel time.
Ordering take-out might help too, so that there's less food preparation and clean up. However, I understand that not everyone can afford take-out on a regular basis. So in terms of food preparation, here are some tips that might help you save time.
We have an article here about balancing commitments which may useful for you to read.
How do these suggestions sound?
Can you see yourself using any?
If you feel like you'd like to explore some of your concerns a little bit more, you can always book in a free session with our one-on-one support service here.
It looks like you’re visiting us from a country other than Australia.
We are an Australian service and think you’d benefit more from looking up a similar service in your country.
You are welcome to look around the forums, but please don’t make an account or post, as we can’t offer you the help you may need.
Before you go ahead and post, you should know that we remove non-Australian accounts – not because we don’t want to help or connect with you, but because we may not be able to provide you with the service that you require.