Why working at home is so important for both mom and kids and how to make it happen.

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Because Mom Works at Home...

By Charlotte Hopkins

It's a hollow feeling for a child when they come home from school, excited to tell the events of the day and the person waiting for them is the babysitter. It's worse yet when there's no one waiting at all. Parents may not know the significance of how the substitute teacher did everything wrong or how funny it was that their child's friend spit chocolate milk onto the cafeteria table because they laughed so hard. However, these are stories that your child wants to share with you. A babysitter's attention can't take the place of mom's. It means more to the child that that their mother is there to listen. Yes, there may be times when you need that babysitter but at those crucial moments it should be mom that's there. Days add up to months, months add up to years. One day you’ll look back: will your child’s development years have been spent mostly with others, or with you?

For all your child’s developmental milestones and crucial turning points, were you there?

A child needs a secure, consistent, solid foundation to build their life upon and mothers want to be able to provide that for them. It is important to your child's emotional development and self esteem when mom is there to give even 30 minutes of attention to them when they get home from school. If you work at home and are working at the time your child arrives home from school; take at least a 30 minute break and give that time to your child. Whether they are 6 years old or 16 years old, it makes world of difference. When you have that extra time to acknowledge that they had a test in Science that day and you want to know how they performed it makes a big difference in how they will apply themselves. It encourages them to study harder. If you don't show interest in their school then they will feel that it must not be important after all, then they may stop trying. Extra curricular activities are also important for children, whether it's a dance class, a sport, or the newspaper club. They teach children how to relate to their peers, how to work as a team and how to fill their time with valuable activities. Children are more interested in participating in these when mom is in stands to cheer them on or there to provide those all important "taxi" rides. Believe it or not some of the conversations you will cherish the most are those chats in the car, to and from their activities. It's always important when you are able to participate with them. If you’re a work at home mom or a stay at home mom you’re lucky: you can be the mom who keeps score at games, helps to design the set for school plays or brings bottles of water at the end of practices. You can be the mom you’ve always dreamed of. Working from home gives you the chance to do those jobs. Working from home lets you be there. They are small chores to us but it's important that your child knows that you care enough to give that extra attention. Because then they will care. Not to mention that it's an incredible self esteem booster.

Working at home also makes it possible to be available in the time of a crisis. A crisis to a child can be falling down on their way home from school, having a fight with a friend or something even more serious, such as, being physically ill or struggling in school. How frightening it must be to a child to feel you badly need your mom, and she’s not there.

Moms feel extra guilty when they are not able to give their children that attention. The solution to that dilemma is to work at home. This will enable you to have that extra time to give to your child when they arrive home from school. When you work for yourself you can make your schedule flexible to fit around your child's needs.

Working at home can also be an educational lesson for your children. Make a set schedule for your work hours and explain to your children about why you have those set hours. Let them know that other people are counting on your services. That they rely on you being there on time everyday and completing the work that you guaranteed to do. Let them see that even though you work at home you still wake up early and on time every day. That you still brush your hair and get dressed in the morning and that you take your work seriously. If you don't take it seriously then neither will your children. Show them proper work etiquette that they will remember when they become adults. Let them see that you act in a professional manner towards your peers and clients and that you give 100% effort to your job. They will carry those lessons on when they are adults in the work place. Children are a product of their environment and you are their role model.

The difference between our children "achieving" or "just not trying" is that extra time that we provide for them when they are young and that example that we set for them. It's not that you have to be there every moment of the day. It's that you are there at those moments when it counts the most - before and after school, at their extra curricular activities and in the time of a crisis.

Charlotte Hopkins is a Freelance Writer, Job Coach and Teen Facilitator.