Working at home does not necessarily mean you don’t need child care. Most work-at-home moms need to employ some child care help. But figuring out how much and what works best for your family, your career and your finances can be tough issues to tackle.
After-school care may still be a good child care choice for a work-at-home mom's family, even if one of the reasons to work at home is spending more time with family. After-school care can provide useful services and help a mom navigate the complicated schedules of multiple children.
Consider these six reason to enroll your child in after-school care.
I bet you're skeptical of free child care. If you get what you pay for, then child care is something you'll
want to pay for. But I'm not suggesting free child care from just anyone...just the opposite. You can find free child care by tapping into resources in your community and social network. Look to trusted friends and family and services you already pay for.
Infants and toddlers are …
Deciding on summer camp is not easy. First there's
whether to send your child to camp. Is your child ready for camp? Can you afford it? Then there's
what kind of summer camp Do you choose a day camp, overnight camp, specialty camp or nature camp?. And then you must decide
where to send them. This summer camp FAQ can help you sort out these and other camp questions.
Do work-at-home moms need to hire child care? For most work-at-home moms, the answer is “yes,” at least part-time help. But how much and what type of child care you need varies.
For some families, summer camp is an almost automatic rite of summer. When school ends, summer camp begins. Families with two parents working outside the home that need child care to cover the summer months often find that summer camp fits the bill. But work work at home moms deciding if summer camp is the right choice can be tougher.
Summer camps also cater to all sorts of specialties and interests. There are general nature summer camps and then there are summer camps focused on sports or another type of specialty. This list provides links to summer camps and directories of summer camps for all sorts of kids.
Find a good selection of summer camps in your area can be tough. These local listings of summer camps in state across the U.S. are a good place to start. These include both day camps and overnight summer camps.
Though snow days are often the source of fond childhood memories for kids, for parents they are a lot of extra work. When school is cancelled, parents who work from home or in an office, must make quick, alternate child care plans.
Just because you work at home doesn’t mean all your child care decisions are simple. In fact, work-at-home moms have additional issues to consider.
If you work only part-time, it often doesn't make financial sense to hire child care. Yet sometimes you need a little alone time. Talk to other like-minded work-at-home and stay-at-home moms about a kid swap.
Part-time, work-at-home moms who have young children but don't have outside child care, should consider a membership to a health club that has a child care facility. If you have a laptop, bring it along and sit in the lobby after your workout.
Finding a babysitter you trust and the kids love can be a challenge. Jennifer Wolf, About.com's Guide to Single Parenting, tells you where to find qualified sitters and how to keep a sitter happily employed.
Robin McClure, About.com's Guide to Child Care, takes you through some of the issues to consider when choosing a child care provider.
Katherine Lewis, About.com's Guide to Working Moms, goes over the pros and cons of several types of child care.
Drop-in child care can be a great options for work-at-home moms, who may not have a regular child care providers. Robin McClure, About.com's Guide to Child Care, explains how drop-in child care centers work.
