The Work at Home Mom & Daycare Dilemma

Many moms dream of working at home for the sole reason that they can stay at home with their kids and say goodbye to daycare forever. But as many moms of successful home-based businesses soon discover, the hours when your children sleep or play quietly by themselves are not enough for running a business.

Other moms exhaust themselves by staying up until 4AM every night working while the family sleeps so that she can devote herself to the kids during the day. But even a few nights like this in a row can exhaust a mom to the point where she is irritable and cranky, exactly like her toddler who has missed an afternoon nap.

But can a mom have it both ways? Can she put the time into her business and put the time into her children as well, without sacrificing one for the other? Yes! But it does require creative childcare solutions, all which keep their children out of the traditional daycare system.

Hire a Mom’s Helper. A mom’s helper is a young girl (pre-teen or younger teenager) with babysitting training who is able to care for your children. They key is that she looks after your children in your home while you are still in the house working. Your office can be considered off-limits with the provision made that the only interuption is in an emergency situation. Ideally, she will play Candyland, have a tea party with your two daughters while also creating a Lego masterpiece with your eight-year-old son. The only drawback is that unless it is summertime, you are restricted to afterschool hours, unless your mom’s helper is being homeschooled. This also costs less than a traditional babysitter or nanny.

Partner up with another work-at-home mom. You look after her kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she looks after yours on Mondays and Wednesdays, while Friday is deemed a family day. This could also work with mornings versus afternoons, or one week on, one week off. And you can also schedule it for just one or two days a week, right up to the full week or weekends. Best of all, you don’t have to pay, since you are returning the favor.

These two are creative ways to solve the daycare dilemma without costing you an arm and a leg, and without costing you special time with your kids, while still managing to run a successful business from your home.

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