| One of the disadvantages of being a stay at home | | | | road it will be a site she can run herself. |
| parent is that people tend to assume that you don't do | | | | Another tactic I use is to set a work timer. This is for |
| ANYTHING all day. There's a decided assumption out | | | | those times where I really need to get something done |
| there that stay at home moms just watch soap | | | | but she really needs playtime. I can set the timer for |
| operas and eat all day, and that home businesses are | | | | the best balance of the time I need and the time a 4 |
| nothing more than hobbies. Those of us who actually | | | | year old can stand to wait for a timer to go off. |
| stay at home know better, of course. | | | | Of course, even without a work at home job or home |
| But even the children you are staying at home with | | | | business to show your children, you can still teach |
| can have a hard time understanding how hard you | | | | them that what you do at home is valuable. If you do |
| work to be with them, even when you're "just" a stay | | | | chore charts for your children, you can show them |
| at home mom. Work at home jobs and home | | | | what your chore chart would look like. You can also |
| businesses don't mean much to them either. It's just | | | | have them help you with your chores as appropriate. |
| something Mommy or Daddy does that means less | | | | My kids can help with basic food preparation (tear |
| time to play. | | | | lettuce for salads, drop chopped vegetables into the |
| I deal with this a lot with my daughter. She has very | | | | salad, etc.) and my daughter can set the plastic dishes |
| mixed feelings about my working while she's awake, | | | | on the table for herself and her younger brother. I have |
| and sometimes goes out of her way to drag me | | | | a cordless sweeper that, while not quite as effective |
| away from my work because she'd sooner play. I | | | | as a vacuum on carpets, works quite well for picking |
| can't blame her - she's only 4, after all. | | | | up the regular small food spills young children generate. |
| One of the things I have found quite helpful is to | | | | It's also light enough for my kids to use and shuts off |
| involve her. I even have a website set up for her that | | | | with even the slightest block. My kids love using it and |
| is intended as a joint project for the two of us. It's all | | | | beg for turns. |
| about her interests. I had her make her Christmas wish | | | | Children will value what you do at home as much as |
| list on that site, for example. | | | | you do. If you talk down about what you do, they |
| Working with me on that makes what I do a little more | | | | won't come to think of it as being as valuable as it is. |
| real to her. She's not interested in working on it often - | | | | Be proud of what you do and the value of it to your |
| what interests her most about it is that it has links to | | | | family. Not every parent is suited to staying at home |
| her favorite websites, with color coded links so that | | | | and dealing with all the challenges inherent in such a |
| she can recognize them. But if I'm lucky, down the | | | | choice. |