Useful Guidelines On Juggling Work And Family Over School Holidays

Whenever the school holidays approach, working mums and working parents in general start going through a nightmare, as they start to fulfil their organisational roles. You will have six weeks or more of time to fill for your children, well aware that this is quality family time, irreplaceable for family bonding purposes. Doesn’t it seem that the months and years just fly by and you are all too aware how, before you turn around, the kids will be adults and on their way into the future. In an ideal world, you would want to spend the entire summer holiday with the children as well, taking time to soak in the summer. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could take a six-week holiday as well?!

But reality bites! You could be self-employed, knowing that holidays are almost unheard of for you, as you put everything into the development of your business.

If you are employed, you understand that your boss cannot afford to be without you for the entire period of time either, but hopefully he or she is understanding and at least a little bit flexible, as this will make all the difference.

You have important decisions ahead and professional coaching can help you to unravel the answers.

You may need to juggle your parenting time between mum and dad and this is the time to see just how flexible your respective employers are. Some might suggest that mum takes her two weeks first and dad takes his when she gets back to work. While this might “cover” for four weeks, it is hardly an ideal situation. For the younger children, this could be simply confusing and if you learn anything from online coaching advice, you know that you need to try and bring together that all important family fabric as much as possible.

Maybe this is time to investigate the concept of telecommuting, which is becoming much more popular and might be a solution for you? If the boss will allow it, try and operate from home during the summer, at least part of the time, allowing you to be more flexible with your hours and more attentive to the kids. If you are thinking along these lines, you should try and introduce this concept slowly before the holidays arrive, to show just how well it could work.

As the kids get a little older, you will find that there are many holiday clubs on offer – a whole range from football to dance and drama. Plan as far in advance as you can as the best holiday clubs get snapped up relatively early.

Summer holidays might mean that you have to get really creative about how you fit in your work responsibilities, so you will have to plan carefully if you are going to make them as easy as possible. Now, more than ever, you need to look for professional coaching help to ensure that you are not out of your depth and remember that there are many online coaching resources available these days.

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working moms that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!