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Parenting & profession: the right balance

Last Updated 14 April 2017, 20:26 IST

A  lot has been said when it comes to the idea of a working mother bringing up a child the ‘right’ way. With changing dynamics of this era, and a faster lifestyle that people are gradually becoming a part and parcel of, many aspirations take a backseat, and prioritising things the right way becomes a skill that everyone needs to master, sooner or later.

If you are a working mother, you would agree that the guilt of not being by your kid’s side did irk you deeply at some point. But many would also agree, that they eventually made peace with it, because they knew what they were doing in their careers was for the greater good of the family altogether.

The ideology of ‘working mothers raising problematic children’ is more of a shibboleth than a fact, because at the end of the day, it’s all about how you strike a balance between your role as a working individual and a mother. Mothering is a journey, it is a work in progress, and
participating in the journey while handling your work life in tandem is the key to hit the right chord and raise your kids the right way, while doing well professionally too.

Sometimes, the guilt may get to you deeply, especially in the initial days of being a new mother and you can’t help but wish for 48 hours in a day so that you could give your undivided attention to your child, but it doesn’t take long to realise that it’s only wishful thinking and you have to make do with what’s humanly plausible. Time is extremely essential, and ultimately, it’s all about quality over quantity, be it mothering or work. Less can always be more, even with time, if you can make the most of it, at parenting or anything else.

With changing times, even a child’s development process changes, and so do parenting techniques, and that’s precisely why new age working mothers are in dire need of the right parenting tips at this moment. As a working mother, you should strive to make the best use of time to ensure your child gets the best development, upbringing and a beautiful future. They shouldn’t hate you for your negligence, as they grow up, and you should be grateful to your kids too, for being cooperative.

‘Out of sight’
As per reports, millennial parents have the highest parental anxiety and are often bugged by various thoughts relating to their child’s development. One of the key reasons for this is the fact that they don’t get to see their kids as often as stay-at-home parents and hence, missing out on their child’s early years of development haunts them deep.

A common instance one can find from the diaries of working mothers would be them video-calling the child’s nanny from office just to see on what their child is up to, and also ensuring the child isn’t affected much by separation anxiety.

We all have been at a desperate stage at some point or another, contemplating whether we should quit our jobs, but every new mother dealing with this debacle of quitting the job should know that this isn’t a valid solution. You need to cut yourself some slack. Technology has made things a lot simpler, and with the right parenting tips and time management skills, you can ace both mothering and your work life.

There’s nothing called perfect parenting, because, starting from pregnancy till the time you become a grandmother, you will always be learning things on the go, good and bad, and you have to take it as it comes. The bottom line comes down to being a ‘smart mother,’ where you make most of the time you spend with your kid and turn it into a fruitful step towards the development of your child, with the right tips, insights, and observation of your child’s day-to-day activities, tracking their milestones, and helping them get better at areas they need to work on.

Like two wheels of a cycle, parenting and profession can certainly go hand-in-hand, if you know how to balance them the right way. One doesn’t necessarily have to stop for the other to go on. Make the right use of the right parenting tips, ace your time management skills, sort your priorities, and you are good to go!

(The author is co-founder, Parentlane)

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(Published 14 April 2017, 20:26 IST)

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