Many stay at home parents of young children plan to work more after their children are a little older and either going to school or being home schooled. School age children still require a great deal of time and attention from their parents, but they do have the ability to do some activities independently at various times during the day. As difficult as it may be to find any time to work when you are the stay at home parent of young children, you may want to consider doing so in the interest of future job security.
Even if you can only find ten, fifteen, or twenty hours to work in a week it is worth it to either start a home – based business or get a home – based job. Working keeps your skills sharp so that when the time is right, you can expand your home – based business or reenter the world of working outside of the home. If you had a specific type of career prior to becoming a parent and you think that you may want to switch directions when it is time to work again, you can try some new areas of work part time while you are at home with the kids.
Keeping your job skills sharp is good mental exercise, and it can help you to feel fulfilled. Being a parent is fulfilling in its own right, but sometimes parents feel like they lose their non – parent identity when they become a mom or a dad. Completing work assignments can provide a sense of accomplishment that is very refreshing during a period of time when it can sometimes feel like not much gets done. I know, I know. Raising children is very important work. It is just nice to have something going on (work) that reminds you that there’s much more to you than your identity as a parent.
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