As we know, one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to our children. Parenting Perspectives is a blog series which aims to share posts from other parents that take an alternative view to “traditional” parenting, whether by choice or not.
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This week, Gemma from http://www.mummyswaisted.co.uk shares her experience of being work from home parents.
I’ve recently become a working from home mum, for the first time in my life. Previous to that, I worked for over thirteen years in a local company in finance based roles, either full time or four days a week. I’m certainly not a creative type so I wasn’t one to start a sideline whilst on maternity leave with my two children (now five and two).
Working from home is a whole new experience for me.
Not so for my husband, who has been home based for over fifteen years now. He decided very early on that the world of corporate IT wasn’t for him, and went self-employed. He’s made a very successful career of being an IT consultant for schools and educational institutions, and latterly has moved into internet marketing and domain sales.
In June 2017, I resigned from my job. I’d come to the realisation that I just wasn’t motivated by spreadsheets anymore (or earning other people their bonuses). I had no idea what I wanted to ‘do’ and had a good few months of gardening, doing jobs around the house and catching up on box sets. I also volunteered at my son’s school which was an enlightening experience (and I learnt that I never wanted to be a primary school teacher!).
In need of something to keep my brain ticking over, I started to help my husband out with some of his easy tasks. As my knowledge started to grow, we embarked on an ambitious project of setting up an affiliate shop website (www.waisttrainer.uk). This involved me writing the product and blog content. This was something which I never thought I would be capable of doing, let alone enjoying it! Fast forward a couple of months, and I’ve now got my own separate blog (www.mummyswaisted.co.uk) and am writing as much as possible. A far cry from sitting at a desk in a stuffy office.
Being working from home parents does have it’s obvious advantages, but there are also some downsides!
The Good
- We both have a lot of flexibility around when we work. This means the school and nursery runs are not an issue (although after school clubs are a bonus!).
- There are not many times that we both need to be working at the same time, so we co-parent around our work demands.
- Having spent a good five years feeling like we were just ‘mum and dad’, working together means we get some good quality time together. Being productive and earning money for our family is hugely motivating.
The Bad
- We’ve had to rearrange our downstairs to accommodate us both working at home! I think we’ve found a good balance now. We both have desks in the conservatory with a view out to the garden.
- Being newly self-employed is a massive change in mindset for me (having been an accountant). I’m still not quite used to it and worry a lot about money (which drives my husband mad!)
- I’m really enjoying my new lifestyle, so if I ever did have to get an employed job again, it would be a real struggle!
Being working from home parents is something I never thought would work from us, and I was very apprehensive at the start. It just proves that if you take the leap, the grass can be greener on the other side!
You can also find Gemma on Twitter and Facebook
If you want to read more Parenting Perspectives posts then visit our Parenting Perspective Series page
