One of the most difficult things about being a working parent is the pull you feel when a child wakes up sick, yet you still have to be at work. My job is pretty flexible, but there are a very few days when I must be there.
Today was one of those days.
My middle child is straddling the line between being sick and well. He’s not sick enough to be really sick, but he’s not quite “well” either.
I made the mistake of asking him if he felt like going to school this morning, I couldn’t decide how he was …read more

The 2008 Presidential race is heating up and it’s interesting to note that 2 of the candidates are working parents of young children.
If you’re in the United States, you would have to have been under a rock not to know that Republican John McCain selected Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, as his running mate on Friday.
Palin is also the mother of 5 children ranging in age from 19 years to 5 months and one of the issues debated around the water cooler in offices (both physical and virtual) across America is, “Should she be spending this much time …read more

I’ve often written about how summer is a mixed blessing for me.
I’m married to a teacher, and with him and the kids on summer vacation, I’m beat since I don’t exactly get to do “summer” like they do. My summer schedule is much like my fall, winter and spring schedule.
I think they have a hard time remembering I still have to go to work and the house has become a 24 hour operation. There are non-native (to our house) kids everywhere, my husband has our middle child on a fishing trip right now, so I’m left with the …read more

Lylah M. Alphonse brought up a working parent aspect I hadn’t thought of: does being a stepmother make you “any less” of a working mother?
I’ve never been a step parent, but I do know enough to be shocked when she wrote about people assuming she had all kinds of time to work extra since she wasn’t “really a parent”.
Everyone’s situation is different, I’m sure, but if you’re married to someone who brought young kids into the marriage, then you are parenting them. Your schedule may be different from someone else’s if the kids aren’t with you full time, but the …read more

Even though my dad later admitted that he had no idea I would work after I had kids (not sure how he thought I was going to pull that off), he definitely influenced my thoughts and attitudes about work-life balance.
He’s a Marine, so he puts energy and efficiency into everything he does. He worked 6 days a week when I was growing up since he was in retail management. I remember asking him why he didn’t carry a briefcase, and, he replied, “Because that’s used for bringing work home.”
It wasn’t until I was much older that it made sense to …read more

Over at Cornered Office, Mir tells us about a classic working parent dilemma, she unexpectedly had to go get a child at school at the same time she was to begin an important conference call.
Fortunately, everything worked out well, but, I have been there when you are needed in two places at once, and, sometimes you have to come up with some creative solutions.
When my oldest child was very young, both my husband and I had one of those “must be there no matter what” days at work, and, the events in question were very close in time. As you …read more

A few weeks ago, over at On Balance, Rebeldad had a great post about things NOT to say to work at home, or, work outside the home parents (Good grief, there are some nasty, nasty commenters there, btw).
I’ve been a parent for 13 years, and, I’ve heard a lot of stuff about working parents. I’ve been a smart alec longer than that, so, I have my prepared responses to some of the classics.
For the most part, I just let people say whatever they have to say, and, for all I know I may have inadvertently offended someone with something …read more

Straight from my bookmarks, some thoughts from around the web on being a working parent.
Don’t miss:
Know Thyself from Oh, The Joys
Face Your Work Week With a Little Less Guilt thoughts from a work at home mom at Love Shak, Baby
Guilt trip: Long hours vs. loved ones: Long hours on the job leave many Americans feeling guilty over the time taken from their families.
Not that having a career and kids is all about guilt (after all, there’s usually no time to feel guilty), but, sometimes it’s nice to have other perspectives on making life and work fit together.

Has your career come to a standstill?  Does nobody ask about your children anymore?
You have lost your Working Parent Street Cred.
The metreoric rise through the office ranks sustained you for years.  Then, your priorities shifted to diapers, tantrums, and funny stories to tell around the office.  Your peers were fascinated by every tale.  They were amazed that you could get so much done in the office and still manage to spend time with your kids.
Then one day you told everybody about how your kid scored the winning goal in her soccer game the night before, and nobody even smiled.  When …read more