Our raison d’être is to make it easier to be a working mum. That’s why we wanted to demystify the fabled work-life balance and see in black and white exactly what it takes to be a working mum today – whether you’re a jewellery designer in Birmingham, a teacher in York or in finance in London. From the merits of various childcare arrangements, to how much it actually costs (and how that differentiates up and down the country), we’re using this space to bring attention to one of the least talked about aspects of our lives – including how women juggle professional tasks, like hausarbeit schreiben lassen (having academic work done for you), and crucially, how they make it work for them. You never know, you might just be inspired to change your own arrangement…
This week’s contributor is a 34-year-old mum of one in London, whose job as business owner means she works outside the usual 9-5 Monday to Friday. It has also required her to return to work quicker than she might have if she was working for somebody else – a common peril for the self-employed.
“My son goes to the childminder three days a week from 8am to 5pm, and I have him on the other days. She’s super flexible though and occasionally when I need her to take him for another day she’ll often say yes. I’d love something like The Working Mums Club for those days where I have my son at home with me but still need to do a little bit of work, so that he can play too.
“Luckily, the childminder is next door to my studio, so we walk there together from home – it’s about 30 minutes away which is fine when the weather’s nice, not so much when it’s raining. I handle all the drop-offs and pick-ups because I work for myself and am more flexible – my husband would struggle to do it based on his more rigid work hours. It costs us £1,000 per month, but it’ll be more from next month when we will up him to four days. I often have to work on Saturdays seeing clients, so my husband looks after our son then. I’m hoping to stop the weekend work soon, so we’ll all have more time together as a family.
“When it comes to getting ready in the morning… every day is different! On the days that I’m seeing clients at my studio, I’ll get ready in the living room while my son has his breakfast (banana pancakes are his current favourite) or plays. If my husband is working from home that day, then I get a good 15 minutes to myself to do my hair – what a luxury! If I’ve not got a client meeting, then I might go to a Reformer Pilates class – in which case I’ll just throw on some leggings and head out the door.
“Our childminder is a dream. Our son adores her and loves going there. She will also only really call us to collect him if he is very unwell and a risk to the other children. On those days, my husband and I tag team, taking it in turns to be the one with him. Luckily, my team of studio coordinators are extremely supportive too and understand what it’s like.
“At the moment, I wouldn’t change our set up – it’s actually better than I thought it would be. If we had another baby, it might be more cost efficient (and convenient) to get a nanny. And we’ve also thought about sending him to nursery when he’s older, before he starts school. But for now this works for us and we’re happy with it.
“We’re not from the UK (I’m half Canadian, half Barbadian) so we are far from family, which can be difficult. I’d love to be nearer to my family, and the idea to move back to Barbados is always in the back of our minds, but not at the moment. If we lived there, we’d have help from family but also most people have access to housekeepers or nannies as it is more affordable. In Canada, childcare is subsidised too, but I don’t know lots about it as I haven’t lived there for so long.”
