Bejuggling - bemused juggling parent

Bejuggling - bemused juggling parent
How to cope with multi-faceted child care and stay sane

The increase in flexible working, working from home and the number of parents who are self employed and run small businesses from home is great in many ways, but as this month’s mum in profile, Jacinta Tynan and last month’s Kellie Connolly reveal, having a diverse working life and children of varying (st)ages and care needs often means one sort of child care doesn’t suffice.

While multi-faceted child care arrangements are great in terms of helping parents juggle parenting and flexible working, it can be a nightmare when it comes to not only juggling your own parenting and work responsibilities, but also juggling the various individuals and services charged with your little ones. In fact sometimes it’s so bemusing we like to call it "bejuggling"!

We are becoming a nation of bejugglers: Bemused Juggling Parents who take juggling work and children to the extreme: sometimes working from home, sometimes from an office, running a business and being self-employed and occasionally having "days off". Most of the time bejugglers look like they don’t know what day it is! Let alone the time of day.

With one kid at primary school, one or two pre-schoolers in child care, and possibly a baby at home, it’s hard to sort out your working week and be in several places at once. So parents are turning to multi-faceted child care where more than one child care option is used.

The most frequent combination seems to be a part-time nanny or au pair combined with formal child care and/or out of hours school care – with the odd grandparent thrown in for good measure, if you’re lucky.

Au pairs – a brilliant invention particularly for parents with children at pre-school and school. You don’t have to be rich or live in a palace to have one! If you can allocate your spare room or have the kids share for a year, it will be hugely beneficial to you and your sanity. As long as you keep to their maximum weekly hours they are invaluable for school pick-ups, emergencies and rush hour when you need to be in two places at once. They don’t have to live in either. And you can also share au pairs (and nannies) with another family.
Nannies - again hugely beneficial particularly when you have a baby and want peace of mind that your carer is experienced. They are more expensive than an au pair but their experience is invaluable. They can also be shared to reduce cost to you.

As with au pairs, nannies are best hired through an agency so you know they have been referenced and vetted. This is not as expensive as you might think and nannies from agencies are also registered, so you can claim some benefits for them (talk to Family Assistance to confirm your status/eligibility).

Grandparents are great for a day or so a week and the odd school pick up and teatime. Don’t abuse them or use them as an emergency though – they also have a life!

Multi-Faceted Child Care and Bejuggling can be tricky so here are a few tips to stay sane:

Keep it consistent. Try to make sure you have a set weekly schedule- which is best for your sanity and also for your kids. Young children are best with a good routine and often know their weekly schedule better than you do.
Quality not Quantity. If you can, go for the fewer but fuller days – it’s much easier to cope with 3 long days a week than try to do 5 shorter days. It’s also much more productive.
Know your limits! You have to be realistic about how much bejuggling you can really do. When you reach 5 different child care options it’s probably time to reassess!
Check on your child care benefit/rebate eligibility for each option. You may be pleasantly surprised on what you can claim.
Don’t Be A Work Sneak: Try not to be tempted to do too many ad hoc sneaky hours of work when you’re at home on a non-work day. Yes the baby might be asleep and it’s a good time to just do those emails, but it can quickly go to pieces when you lose track of time and school pick up was an hour ago…
Keep grandparents to a minimum and save them for emergencies and weekend quality time. Grandparents are usually extremely willing and their own worst enemy, but it’s a hard job caring for young children for long periods of time when you’re getting on a bit and over use of grandparents can lead to mild resentment on their part and guilt on your part. You’ll feel less guilty and you might actually get to see them yourself at the weekend for some quality time with your own parent.
Have a good reminder /alarm system! Strange as it sounds, just having a timetable on your fridge or on your iPhone or Blackberry can be life-saving. And plug in those very useful recurring reminders that send an alarm for where you need to be and when (ie. School gates – 3pm!)

» Click here for more information on dealing with multi-faceted child care.