How to survive as a single working mom of a toddler?
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Being a devoted mother is hard while being a devoted employee is challenging. Being both, well, it’s downright impossible. This is especially true if your child is still mostly dependent on you and needs your attention. You just can’t be at two places at once, can you? Luckily, the modern world offers one great method of caring for your child: a babysitter. It may be hard trusting your toddler to someone else while you work, but with these tips, both of you will have a successful and stress-free day.
Choose the right sitter
No one can relax and focus on work if they don’t have the right sitter. It may take a while to find the right match, but it’s the essence of survival. An ideal sitter should be someone responsible who shares your opinions on parenting.
This way, you’ll be sure your child is being taught all the right lessons and that your rules are being respected. Only then will you be able to truly excel at your job and give the best results.
Communicate
It’s very important to have good communication with your sitter. You want to be able to tell them anything and they should be able to do the same. Through communication, you build trust. This is the only way your working day will get a little easier. You can’t leave your child in the hands of a stranger. Thus, with trust and communication, you’ll be able to focus more on work and worry less.
You can set up a system with your sitter where they text or call you once every few hours to let you know how things are going, for example. Communication is as important throughout the day as it is when hiring.
Set up a lunch call
You know very well that you’ll be missing your kid the entire day. It’s going to be a while until you’re able to hold them again. To help you get through the day, you can set up a lunch call in advance. Your lunch hour will be spent at your desk anyway, so why not use it to see how things are going at home? Thanks to modern technology, camera calls are more than easy to set up.
You surely have a laptop or a tablet at home that your sitter can use and put in front of your kid when they’re having lunch. This way, it will be almost like you’re home. You’ll make sure they’re fed and happy while stealing a moment for bonding over lunch.
Give the sitter a tour
Before you leave, it’s important to give your sitter a full tour of your home. They need to be able to get around quickly and efficiently, as well as to know how the house is babyproofed. Make it clear which areas are off limits to your child. Also, make sure to show them how to work the baby gates. As well as that, you should also have spare child safety locks that you can give them.
This is just in case your toddler starts exploring the parts of the house you haven’t yet babyproofed, or if they somehow manage to pass the already set up security system. It will make the day much safer for both the sitter and the baby. Plus, it’s bound to give you peace of mind since the sitter will be prepared for every potential problem.
Spend quality time together
When the day is done, you’re more than ready to scoop up your baby and give them a tight hug. No matter how helpful the sitter may be and how much your child likes them, nothing can replace a mother’s love. This is why you should make sure to spend some time with your kid after work. Household chores can wait.
Take them out for a walk, go to the park, or get some dinner together. When you come back, snuggle up with their favourite cartoon and let the softness of the blankets envelope you. This will be a good routine for de-stressing after a hard day, too. After all, no worry seems too big when you’re holding your little one close. Once the little sloppy kiss of affection is sealed on your cheek, you’ll forget all about work and melt into the moment further.
Conclusion
It won’t be easy trusting your kid with someone else, but it’s much safer and even cheaper than childcare services. Your baby will be in a familiar environment, thus feeling more confident and less scared without you. With proper instructions, the babysitter won’t have any trouble taking care of your little one. Finally, once you get home from work, it’ll be much nicer to spend quality time with a happy and unfussy toddler who surely missed you.
Author BIO