The Working Mom’s Guide: Spending Time With Your Child

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Being a working mom is pretty tough. Spending 8-9 hours a day away from your kid then having about half the time to get the chores, errands, and meals done is tough. On top of it all there is the famous mom guilt that you may feel when you aren’t spending time with your child.

As mothers we hold ourselves up to this ridiculous standard that we have to be all things to everyone. It’s exhausting and often times can feel like you are barely keeping your head above water.

So how do you find the time to get in some extra time with your kid when you’re working as much as you do? This is a question I hear a lot from moms. We all want to spend as much time as we can with our kids but we have to pay bills, put food on the table, and keep a roof over our heads.

Before we get into how we find time for everything I need you to do one thing for me. Go into the bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror, and say this, “I am enough!” Everyday make sure you tell yourself this.

You can be a working mom, a work at home mom, or a stay at home mom, being a mom is tough. Make sure you take a few seconds every day to build yourself up.

Stop Trying to Find Time

Make the time. Ok so it’s not actually making time. It’s swapping your schedule around really. Try swapping cleaning the kitchen to eat snacks with your kid while watching their favorite movie. The kitchen can get cleaned after they go to bed. Swap some chore time with kid time.

If you absolutely need to clean, include your child in chore time. Have them dust the lower shelves while you reach up high. Have them dry dishes while you wash them. Have them stand on a step ladder and help you with dinner. You both will get quality time together while also teaching your child some valuable life lessons.

Related Post: Diary of a Mom – I’m Afraid Of My Spirited Child

Schedule Play Dates

I’m not talking about the play dates where you drop your kid off somewhere to play or get to sit on your patio with the other neighborhood moms drinking wine. Those are important play dates too but I’m talking about Mommy and Me time. This is time where you and your child can just play. Check out my list below for more options.

• Go To The Park
• Go To A Museum
• Go To The Movies
• Have A Snack & Movie Night
• Go To Dinner
• Go To A Play Area
• Go Shopping
• Go to The Beach
• Go For A Hike
• Go To An Amusement Park

Quality Over Quantity

Your child doesn’t necessarily have a full concept of length of time so when you focus on the quality of time you are spending with your child you are giving the maximum benefit. They don’t care if they get 10 minutes or 60 minutes playing with their blocks with you.

If you spend 60 minutes playing blocks with them and 50 of those minutes were spent on your phone your kid only knows you were sitting with them while you were distracted. Additionally, they learn to value electronics over human interaction. Even if you can only spend a 10 minutes fully playing all they know is you played with them, not how long you played with them.

Quality time is what your child really wants. They want to have you without distractions, without interruptions. So give them that.

When you focus on quality over quantity in the time you give your child you will feel like the time you spend with them is more than it actually is. As a working mom sometimes all you can do is focus on the quality of time you spend with your kid.

Try three or four 10-20 minute play periods throughout the day, instead of one 60 minute play period. Not only does it make them feel super special, but you can still get everything else you need to do accomplished.

You Probably Are Spending Enough Time With Your Kids

Think about this for a minute. Are you sitting down to eat with them? Are you reading them a bedtime story? Bathtime? Daily play time? Arts and crafts on the weekends? Trips to the zoo? Family vacations?

Oftentimes we feel like being a working mom means we are sacrificing time with our family. We will feel like what time we are spending with them is somehow not enough.

It is entirely possible that the working mom guilt has crept in and said, “You aren’t enough.” This is why you must remind yourself that you are enough. You are spending time with your kids. Mama, you are raising awesome tiny humans, working, and taking care of the house. You are enough.

If you feel like you want to spend more time with your kids, plan an awesome stay at home or getaway weekend with the sole purpose of just hanging out with your kids. No social media, no work, just lots and lots of playtime. This one special weekend could be all you need to remind yourself that you are spending enough time with them and you are enough.

Final Thoughts

As moms we often times try to have it all. We all work hard so that we can give our children great lives. There is no mistaking just how much work we put in.

We are enough, we are doing our best, and no one can take that away from us. You’ve got this mama, don’t let the guilt get you.

For my work at home parents be sure to check out my post Time Management Tips for the Work at Home Parent.

Being a working mom is tough, in the end it can be pretty rewarding chasing your own passions while raising an awesome little human too. Follow me on Pinterest and pin this to your favorite parenting board.

Related Posts:

• Diary Of A Mom: Feeling Like A Bad Mom
• Diary Of A Mom: Mom Anxiety Is Real
• Time Management Tips For the Work At Home Mom
• Diary Of A Mom: The Hard Parts Of Motherhood

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