{"id":101,"date":"2011-09-29T15:34:11","date_gmt":"2011-09-29T14:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/?p=101"},"modified":"2011-09-29T15:34:11","modified_gmt":"2011-09-29T14:34:11","slug":"mums-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/mums-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Mums At Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mums at Work<\/strong><\/p>\n

We hear a lot in the media these days about put upon working mums and the pressures they face, even in 2011, trying to combine a career with raising a family. Allison Pearson\u2019s 2002 novel \u201cI Don\u2019t Know How She Does It\u201d about a harassed working mother has now been made into a film starring Sarah Jessica Parker. A decade on, Pearson\u2019s portrayal of a professional woman multi-tasking and tying to juggle family life with a career is still relevant. Let\u2019s examine some of the issues facing working mothers in particular and see what needs to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving it all\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve written before about the American study that deems \u201chaving it all\u201d impossible. Its findings show that the so-called \u201csupermoms\u201d who try to be fantastic at work and at home put themselves under too much pressure and are more likely to succumb to depression. By comparison, those working mums who are more \u201crealistic\u201d and recognise that they cannot do it all fare much better.<\/p>\n

In the opening scene of \u201cI Don\u2019t Know How She Does It\u201d the protagonist, Kate Reddy, is in the kitchen furiously bashing shop-bought mince pies in an attempt to make them look homemade. It\u2019s a very funny scene but it also pinpoints the societal pressure on women to work both the domestic and the professional. Hopefully, ten years on, most women have learned to accept that they can\u2019t do it all. Outsourcing the household chores as much as is financially possible as well as educating one\u2019s partner to see childcare as a shared responsibility goes some way towards helping ease the burden. Allowing a certain amount to slide is also an option! We can neither have it all nor do it all.<\/p>\n

Staying put<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the trailer for \u201cI Don\u2019t Know How She Does It\u201d, SJP\u2019s character manically makes lists, rushing from the office to home while a neighbour tells her she and her kids \u201cjust fooled about in the park today\u201d. When the pressures of juggling work with running a household and looking after the family seem overwhelming, it\u2019s tempting to think that staying at home would be a doddle by comparison. But research shows again and again that work is good for women. Jamie Oliver, quoted in The Sunday Times Magazine at the weekend says that as he sees it, the women \u201cthat are most happy are the two- to three-dayers. I see both models of mum [those that work and those that stay at home] and definitely the ones that remain engaged, vivacious, humorous, have got the mechanism of work in their lives\u201d. So according to Jamie, and others, there is a middle way.<\/p>\n

Making it work<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fact is most women nowadays want to go out to work as well as have a family. Many have to in order to pay the bills. Excellent childcare is a must and NannyJob can help you in your quest to find the right nanny. If you wish to share a nanny and cut down on your childcare costs then that\u2019s also an option.<\/p>\n

And while it’s true that a good nanny\u00a0will\u00a0definitely\u00a0lighten the working mum’s load, other things come into play too. A recent discussion on Radio 4\u2019s \u201cWomen\u2019s Hour\u201d suggested that men were at the heart of any change in working practices amongst women. Having your partner share in household duties as well as getting them to share pick-ups and drop-offs will help. In the debate about rising childcare costs, we most often hear about women quitting their jobs because their take home pay after childcare means \u201cit\u2019s just not worth it\u201d. Surely the childcare costs should be deducted from the parents\u2019 joint income? Childcare needs to become the domain of men as well as women. And of course it\u2019s not going to be perfect. Your partner may not do things exactly as you do; however, once again, being realistic is most important. With your partner\u2019s cooperation, life is made somewhat easier for you.<\/p>\n

Work life balance<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Women need to remember too to slot in some \u201cme time\u201d in their busy lives. Merely getting out and going for a walk with a friend is good for your health and wellbeing. Prioritise this. The old adage \u201cwhat\u2019s good for mother is good for baby [or child]\u201d is true.<\/p>\n

So working women are under pressure \u2013 as are working men, we\u2019ll leave that article for another day. What\u2019s new you say? Accepting our limits and learning to compromise and assert ourselves will bring us some way towards harmony at home and at work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mums at Work We hear a lot in the media these days about put upon working mums and the pressures they face, even in 2011, trying to combine a career with raising a family. Allison Pearsons 2002 novel I Dont Know How She Does It about a harassed working mother has now been made into … Continue reading “Mums At Work”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-childcare","category-nannies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nannyjob.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}