A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. It is a very different world than it used to be. As such parenting has changed as well, with a whole host of career-and family-related changes associated with it. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Balance Family Life As A Working Parent.
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As every parent knows, family life can be challenging to manage. Attempting to strike a balance between all the things you need to do while still making time for the kids can feel like an almost impossible balancing act. Unfortunately, many parents feel this way. As living costs keep rising, more households than ever require both parents to work full-time, sometimes through choice, but more often out of necessity. This means that there is far less time to complete chores, cook meals, and, most importantly, spend quality time together.
Work-life balance is a phrase that is often spoken about, but many people still struggle to achieve this. Research shows that 54% of parents would like to spend more time with their kids. But, it is not as simple as just cutting down on time spent at work and spending more time at home. So, when working less is not an option, you may be wondering how a work-life balance can be achieved. Here are some tips to help you navigate balancing family life as a working parent:
Simplify Mealtimes
After a long day at work, trying to decide what to cook for family dinners each night can become a significant source of stress. You may find that you feel much too tired to cook healthy, nutritious meals for the family. Making mealtimes as simple as possible will make it easier for you to prepare healthy meals and spend less time in the kitchen each night.
There are a couple of different ways to simplify mealtimes. You could batch-cook meals and freeze them. Batch cooking will enable you to have meals ready and stored in the freezer, so you can reheat them whenever needed. Alternatively, you may want to create a meal plan at the start of every week so you already know what to cook each night.
Find Childcare
Trying to balance looking after the kids between yourself and your partner can be a significant source of stress. When you are always trying to arrange childcare between you, you will have very little time left over to spend together. But, it does not always have to remain this way. Arranging high-quality childcare for your kids can make it much easier for you to navigate both your work life and home life and will certainly help to reduce your stress levels.
Childcare settings such as the Play and Learn School offer childcare and education for a range of ages, meaning that your kids will enjoy engaging activities while you work. With your childcare arrangements settled, it will be so much easier for you to enjoy more family time together, and you will no longer be ships passing in the night.
Work as a Team
Finally, working as a team is essential to balance family life. Allocating age-appropriate chores to family members will ensure everyone can play a part in keeping family life running smoothly. For kids, it can be helpful to develop a sense of responsibility and learn crucial life skills.
