This is a guest post by Nicki. Nicki is a proud mother of two kids and a professional writer. Her topics of interests include digital safety of kids, employee monitoring, cyberbullying, mobile phone apps, and much more. She is currently working as a Senior Editor at TheOneSpy.
In the fast paced world of today, where both partners are usually working, it’s often hard to tackle parenting alongside everything else. Parents are usually left feeling unsure and guilty of what and how much they do for their children, and whether it’s even enough. Other than the special circumstances when a parent needs to work longer hours, or a child may be sick, balancing both work and family is not as big of a task as it is portrayed to be. Here are a few helpful tips to manage both simultaneously.
1. Tackle Everyday Tasks Together
Most parents have a set routine of managing household chores the moment that they get home. However, this may leave children feeling vulnerable and neglected. As recommended by many family therapists, every minute you’re home, spend it with your child. The best way to do this is by involving your children in your house chores. This way, you’ll be spending time with them physically, and you can chat with them about their friends and school.
2. Establish a Virtual Presence
Even when you’re not home, technological advancements make it easy to stay in touch with your children. Moreover, there are many monitoring applications available that also allow you to keep track of your child’s whereabouts, the people they hang out with, and what they’re doing on the Internet. Some parents have also shown keen interest in these applications because this way they have peace of mind, with their ever lingering virtual presence in the children’s lives.
3. Spend Time Outdoors
One of the best ways to mingle with your children is through any shared hobby outside the parameters of the home. Whether it’s food or sports, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s being done with your children. Going shopping or eating out are also two important aspects that one must keep in mind. Both things should be correlated and co-dependant of each other; parents teach children basic manners of eating out in public while at the same time, parents get to enjoy the company of their children as well. Some children and parents have also shown mutual interest in something as basic as grocery shopping.
4. Never Compromise on Health
Work and children are a continuous cycle of life, which should not be confused with hard core exercise that you would otherwise do in the gym or the tracks. But with toddlers, the gym becomes difficult sometimes. However, you can take up do-it-yourself aerobics, yoga, or Zumba that can be done at home with the help of DVDs. Research has shown such activities help parents and children bond. Moreover, children also learn the perks of exercising regularly.
Work and children don’t have to be a complicated duo. Both parents and children are well aware of each other’s situations and can work together to find mutual ground. You will be surprised to know how smart and in tune the children of today really are!
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