7 Tips for Stay at Home Moms

A fellow blogger, Jane Lacombe, has recently embarked on her second mat-leave. She’s sharing with us her thoughts about being a stay-at-home mom and sharing her tips on how to keep sane.  You can read more about Jane and her posts about her motherhood and her beautiful two boys at Felicity Kind and make sure to follow along on Facebook as well.

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When I recently started maternity leave, I was excited to take a break from the things that I find difficult about being a “working” mom: rushing in the morning, commuting & traffic, evenings that pass too quickly.

A few days into my mat leave, I realized that being a stay-at-home mom is hard work too! It’s amazing to spend each day with my boys, but those days require planning, patience, and play.

Here are 7 helpful habits that I have adopted since my mat leave started. I hope they help you too!

1. Write a daily schedule

It is blissful to be on mat leave and therefore less scheduled, but routine helps young kids feel secure. Having a daily schedule is helpful for me too, because I definitely lose track of time when I’m home (“how is it 11 AM already!?”). Plus, the schedule is the bad cop when needed: sorry sweetie pie, the schedule says it’s nap time.

2. Get outside in the morning

The most important part of our schedule is that we go outside each morning. We usually walk to the park so my preschooler can play for an hour or two. This time outside is good for our bodies and mitigates that stir-crazy feeling.

3. Enlist your child(ren) to help with chores

I like a tidy house, but not at the expense of spending time with my kids. I multitask by having my 4 year old help. His favorite jobs: vacuuming, loading & unloading the dishwasher, and putting away clean laundry (always the correct room, not always the correct drawer).

4. Spend quality time, times two

Now that we’re home, I hear “play with me” quite often. I’ve tried to explain that I am a grownup, and therefore not fun, but my son still wants to play! In my mind, I break quality time into two types: Mommy chooses the activity vs. child chooses the activity. I believe that both types are important to the parent-child relationship and should be done daily, but the time spent on each does not have to be equal.

Some examples of Mommy-chosen activities are playing board games, reading stories, arts & crafts, baking, and going for walks. I personally enjoy these activities, so by choosing them each day, I know that I’ll spend substantial quality time with my boys. My son chooses activities like pretending to be superheroes, pretending to be dinosaurs, and chasing each other while roaring. These aren’t my normal hobbies, but I still spend bits of time each day on these activities, because I know they are important to my 4 year old.

5. Introduce opportunities to play with peers

Since Mommy is not fun, I try to provide many chances for my older son to play with kids his age. Other kids love the roar game. Tip: we visit the playground every day between 10 AM and noon when daycare groups are there. Instant friends!

6. Create a “treat” day

When my mat leave began, we suddenly had lots of time to walk to the dépanneur and buy ice cream (note: I was 9 months pregnant, and it was June!). Then I wised up and delegated Friday as “treat day.”

7. Don’t forget to feed them

No joke. My lunchtime habits at the office are erratic, but lunch and snacks are crucial to a happy day for Mom and kids.

That’s my list. What would you add?