According to recent research, many Millennials aren’t planning on having kids. We’re apparently too practical.
After all, we’ve seen what it’s like to grow up in a country that lacks decent support for working parents. Working and raising kids is hard! It means expensive daycare, awkward hours and constantly feeling torn between work and family.
But in spite of our reasonable hesitation, many 20- and 30-somethings are already parents, or are hoping to be in the near future. In 2011, about 36% of those considered GenY (18-29 at the time) were parents, according to a Pew Research poll.
Though our generation’s entry into parenthood has been late and slow compared to previous generations, the urge to have kids is still there. But most of us are looking for alternative arrangements that will give us the work/life balance we crave.
Enter the Work-from-Home Job
The desire for work/life balance — especially when it comes to having a family — is one of the main reasons, I’d argue, that Millennials are particularly interested in freelancing, entrepreneurship and telecommuting. After all, what could give you better work/life balance than working from home?
On the surface, the work-from-home job seems like the perfect solution for young parents who want to raise their own children without living in relative poverty. You get flexible hours, a two-second commute and a way to be both a working parent and a stay-at-home parent.
It’s the best of all worlds, right?
Well, kinda.
The Reality of Working from Home with Kids
As a work-from-home parent, I can tell you that it’s not really all it’s cracked up to be. (No surprise there!)
Yes, working from home does mean I get more time with my daughter than I would if I worked a corporate job. At the very least, I’ve cut out the long commute, which leaves more family time. And I don’t even have to roll out of bed stupid-early to be sure I’m dressed to the nines for day-long meetings.
Sometimes, I even get some work done while my kid is home with me. (As I type this post, my two-year-old is crashed on the couch, head in my lap, snoring away.)
But this isn’t the norm for us. In fact, since she was about 10 months old, my toddler has been in daycare at least part-time — sometimes full-time. I freelanced 20-25 hours per week while also doing the stay-at-home mom thing before that. But once she was fully mobile, all bets were off!
If you talk to other work-from-home parents, you’ll find the same thing. Unless the job allows them to work only during naptimes and after bedtime, they need some extra help, too.
Concentrating on work while being present enough to keep your child alive and entertained just isn’t possible all the time, after a certain point.
All this to say: If you decide to work from home after you have a kid, you’re probably going to need more help than you’d think.
Luckily, you have lots of options:
1. Work Fewer Hours
If you don’t need to freelance full-time, then you may be able to blend your work-at-home and stay-at-home roles perfectly. Most kids will take naps until at least age two or three. After that, you can always institute a mandatory afternoon quiet time, during which you can get some work done.
So if you can afford to work only very part-time until your kids are school-aged, go for it. Just keep in mind that some days, you may get next-to-nothing done!
2. Flex Schedules with Your Spouse
Depending on your spouse or partner’s work schedule, you may be able to switch off child care while each of you works. If your particular work-at-home job doesn’t require you to be available during the day, for instance, you could work evenings while your parenting partner takes over the dinner/bath/bedtime routine.
I know parents who have made this work, even with full-time work-out-of-the-home jobs. But this arrangement does cut back on whole-family time, and it can put strain on your relationship. So be sure to keep tabs on that, should you choose this option.
3. Hire Some In-Home Help
I know many work-at-home moms hire a nanny to be in the home while they work. This can be a great, flexible arrangement. You could hire someone for just a few hours a day, or full-time.
This is a great arrangement because you can more easily monitor what’s going on with your kid(s). Plus, it’s likely to be more flexible than a daycare, many of which only charge daily rates (instead of hourly) and which may not offer part-time hours.
Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need an actual office with a door that shuts for this to work. Also, you’ll probably find that you’ll need to say goodbye to baby once the nanny arrives and stay out of sight until you’re back in full-on parenting mode. Otherwise, you’ll confuse your kid — and probably cause an “I want mommy!” meltdown or two.
4. Consider Daycare
When my daughter was about 10 months old, we found an excellent in-home daycare near my husband’s job. She went to “school” two or three days out of the week, depending on my workload. After our recent move, my (now) two-year-old started attending a larger daycare center pretty much full-time.
Personally, I love this arrangement. My daughter gets plenty of exercise and time with other kids, and I get regular hours for work.
Not all daycares will offer part-time slots, but many will. And two or three full days of daycare — rather than five days of half-day care — worked really well for us for that year. Plus, part-time care saved us a bundle compared to full-time care.
Now that I’m busier, though, full-time daycare works great. If I’m not very busy, I just pick my daughter up right after nap time, and we hang out all afternoon. If I get an extra assignment or two, she’s happy to stay at “school” a bit later.
This definitely isn’t the best arrangement for everyone – especially financially – but it’s worked out really well for my family.
5. Enroll your Kids in Coding Classes
Once my daughter starts attending primary school, we would consider enrolling her in one of those coding classes for kids. I have heard many stories from parents who saw their kids make big progress as the lessons went on.
But rather than take away my kid’s free time during school days, my wife and I are thinking of enrolling her in between breaks (either during summer break or winter break).
What is great about these coding programs is that they even offer coding camps and hold general assemblies for kids interested in coding.
So I think, why not?
It is a breath of fresh air from all those typical scout camps and other online summer programs.
Besides, many coding programs offer the flexibility to either take the classes online or in-person. No matter what happens, they can still continue learning.
This would surely keep them preoccupied and provide them with other better things to do. So this also means more peaceful breaks for my wife and me.
The Bottom Line
Working from home can be really great when you have kids, especially if your particular field allows for flexible hours. But unless you want to lose your mind — or basically never sleep — you will need some extra help. Working full-time hours while being a full-time, stay-at-home parent is next to impossible. (Tweet this thought.)
So before you take the leap into work-from-home parenthood, check out these or other options that can help you make it work.
Do you work from home with kids? Share in the comments of your best survival tips!
This post originally appeared on CareerMeh.
Image: Photobucket
