Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Uncategorized


Helping Your Child Understand What You Do at Home

By:

One of the disadvantages of being a stay at home parent is that people tend to assume that you don't do ANYTHING all day. There's a decided assumption out there that stay at home moms just watch soap operas and eat all day, and that home businesses are nothing more than hobbies. Those of us who actually stay at home know better, of course.

But even the children you are staying at home with can have a hard time understanding how hard you work to be with them, even when you're "just" a stay at home mom. Work at home jobs and home businesses don't mean much to them either. It's just something Mommy or Daddy does that means less time to play.

I deal with this a lot with my daughter. She has very mixed feelings about my working while she's awake, and sometimes goes out of her way to drag me away from my work because she'd sooner play. I can't blame her - she's only 4, after all.

One of the things I have found quite helpful is to involve her. I even have a website set up for her that is intended as a joint project for the two of us. It's all about her interests. I had her make her Christmas wish list on that site, for example.

Working with me on that makes what I do a little more real to her. She's not interested in working on it often - what interests her most about it is that it has links to her favorite websites, with color coded links so that she can recognize them. But if I'm lucky, down the road it will be a site she can run herself.

Another tactic I use is to set a work timer. This is for those times where I really need to get something done but she really needs playtime. I can set the timer for the best balance of the time I need and the time a 4 year old can stand to wait for a timer to go off.

Of course, even without a work at home job or home business to show your children, you can still teach them that what you do at home is valuable. If you do chore charts for your children, you can show them what your chore chart would look like. You can also have them help you with your chores as appropriate.

My kids can help with basic food preparation (tear lettuce for salads, drop chopped vegetables into the salad, etc.) and my daughter can set the plastic dishes on the table for herself and her younger brother. I have a cordless sweeper that, while not quite as effective as a vacuum on carpets, works quite well for picking up the regular small food spills young children generate. It's also light enough for my kids to use and shuts off with even the slightest block. My kids love using it and beg for turns.

Children will value what you do at home as much as you do. If you talk down about what you do, they won't come to think of it as being as valuable as it is. Be proud of what you do and the value of it to your family. Not every parent is suited to staying at home and dealing with all the challenges inherent in such a choice.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Stephanie Foster blogs at http://www.homewiththekids.com/blog/ about being a stay at home mom. You can read more of her thoughts on the stay at home lifestyle on her website.

| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Recent UnCategorized Articles

  • Make Money From Online Business By: John Hubert - There are a number of ways that you can make money from online business, one of which consists of actually setting up your own web presence and profiting from it. Every day there are hundreds, if not thousands of new businesses establishing themselves online in order to sell their product or service, or the products and services of another company.
  • What Else You Should Know about Baby Gift Registry By: stefan pongratz - If new parents-to-be register at a reputed national store chain's baby gift registry, their friends, family and relatives will find it easy to know what exactly the prospective parents want/need for the arrival of their bundle of joy. Advantages of baby gift registry Guests will find it easy to shop for the right and appropriate items and get value for money shopping experience. There will be zero chances of goofing up and causing embarrassment.
  • Pilates Biography - The Forgotten Story By: Chris Jensen - Joseph H. Pilates was born in Munchengladbach in Germany, in 1880. Both of his parents were creatures of the physical. His father was a gymnast, his mother a naturopath. So it is no surprise that Pilate made physical health his lifelong obsession. Pilates was also a sickly child who, through his efforts cured his own asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. He put his whole life force into improving his physical strength. Joe Pilates began by studying bodybuilding, gymnastics and yoga.
  • Can Trading Profit and Trading Fear go Hand in Hand? By: Terry Leslie - Fear can be a rather useful emotion, and in many cases fear prevents us from doing things that are otherwise unhealthy for us in one way or another. Fear can also be a great inhibitor. While fear is a naturally occurring emotion in nearly every creature imaginable, fear doesn't often have much place in the market. Traders who execute based on fear often do not well at all.
  • Learning to Trade Forex- Part 1: Books By: Bart Icles - When it comes to learning forex there are quite a few options of how to go about it. It can be overwhelming to look at the options and wonder which would be best for you and your situation. Once you understand the basics of the methods the course that will work best for you will be apparent. There are 3 major ways to learn forex and exploring their pros and cons helps understand which will work best for you.
  • Tips To Buying A Flat Screen HDTV By: Koz Huseyin - Are you perplexed about buying a flat screen HDTV set? There need be no confusion, and you can buy the best flat screen HDTV set for your home. As you read this article, you will discover some tips to buying a flat screen HDTV set, that will make the HDTV set you buy, the best for your home. The first point you will want to consider is screen size. Screen size is an important consideration;
  • Online Nursing Programs Making An Impact By: D.J Raymond - The nursing shortage is well documented. Employment positions for nurses will be in high demand for the foreseeable future. Education and training requirements for qualified nurses is part of the problem. However online nursing programs have taken a prominent role in training new nurses. By the year 2010 there will be over 200,000 openings for nurse jobs that will be available. This is a significant problem, but one the health care careers industry works on diligently.
  • Tips for Transitioning to Excel 2007 By: Christine Harrell - The migration to Excel 2007 from older versions doesn't have to be difficult. If you understand the potential problems, fewer problems will arise. Unlike other versions of Excel, there are enough changes in the newest version that it is worth enrolling in Microsoft Excel training for Excel 2007, even if you already are familiar with old versions of the application. Even with training, there are two big and a bunch of little pitfalls ahead.
  • The Three Different Types of Forex Traders: Which One Are You? By: Nathan Navachi - Of the many components that go into the decision making process of a successful forex trader, finding a trading strategy that works for you is one of the most important parts. But even if you have a winning forex trading strategy, it is in your best interest to determine what your currency trading style is. Forex traders come in three basic varieties: Scalpers, Day Traders, and Position Traders, with the majority of traders falling into the middle category.
  • Buy Leads and Convert them into Business By: Michael New Jr. - Nowadays, many finance companies are making efforts to establish their business in secured loan leads, as the market for secured loans has reached an epitome. People are applying for secured loans because of its hassle free nature and long repayment duration. On the other hand, lenders are also required to be quite selective while collecting their set of leads because used or non verified leads can only result in wastage of money as well as time.

Search Ebay

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!


Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.