Tips for Managing Mommy Guilt

Every mom is a working mom. From the moment you become a mom you are presented with all sorts of challenges. Mommy guilt is not one I was expecting - that is until I became a mom myself.

The first time I worked after having my 1^st child I chose a daycare where I could take my own child. He loved being in a group of kids to play and I enjoyed earning some much needed money for our household. I didn't feel too terribly guilty with this situation.

Though planning dinner ahead required some practice working with my young son at my side was a perfect solution for avoiding mommy guilt. He was plenty tired at the end of the day and would go home and take a nice nap while I threw in a load of laundry and managed to get dinner on the table. After dinner and a bath he was more than willing to go to bed.

After my second child working outside of the home was way more of a challenge so I cut the middle man out of the picture and ran my own day care for 2 years. This worked well, working out of my home I was at work from 6:30 AM til 6:00 PM. The kids were all wonderful and I kept a very small group of only 6 kids total and generally only 4 were at the house at a time. Sneaking in the kitchen to start dinner was a breeze and I could toss a load into the washer and then the dryer off and on. No mommy guilt until time to pick up toys and by then I was pretty tired.

Once the 2 older children were in school I had another child and stayed home with him. I was pretty busy just getting 2 off to school and keeping up with the laundry for the rest of the household. I didn't work for a few more years other than keeping my own household up and going.

When I did venture back into the working mom world, I sought out a great day care situation. I called around and even called several churches and found a wonderful lady that loved kids and watched several on a daily basis. After meeting her I knew she was a perfect fit for our family. I took my young son over and we had a few trial runs with her while I ran short errands. When I found the job I liked I hired her immediately.

Working close to home also helped to alleviate my mommy guilt. I had an hour for lunch and could go home, turn on the crock pot or do some laundry, stop in and see my son and be back to work in plenty of time.

Being creative with where you work and working from home if at all possible was the best were the best two solutions I found for alleviating mommy guilt. Staying in touch with my friends helped me feel like a real person and not just a mommy and my children met and made good friends.

Its important to remember that in this economy many of us need to be working moms. Finding ways to avoid that guilt will go far in easing our minds. I taught my older children to do laundry and help start dinner or at least keep an eye on dinner from about age 12 on. Between us my husband and I have 8 kids and I now work from home online. I start work the minute I get out of bed. I get my hubby out the door to work, our youngest on the school bus and our 15 year old working on his assignments as he is home schooled. I am on and off of the computer throughout the day working. In between I am cleaning house, doing laundry and making meals for our family. When 3:00 PM rolls around, I am waiting for the bus and generally done online for the day. This keeps my mommy guilt at bay.

I also try to find at least ½ hour per day just for me. Whether its reading my book or talking on the phone with a friend, this helps me to relax and helps reduce the stress that can set in causing mommy guilt.

My children aren't suffering, my husband isn't suffering and I am bringing in some extra income by working online. No mommy guilt here. With the dawn of the Internet my life definitely changed and I was able to find more ways to alleviate my mommy guilt.