Motherhood Incorporated

Chances are, you’ll need a babysitter at one time or another. Some babysitters may need a bit less information or prepping, such as when dropping the kids off with your mom or a trusted neighbor. Some, however, do need a little more information before you head out. To make it easier for them to get in touch with you in case of an emergency, or to handle any emergency that may come their way, you may consider leaving with them a checklist that includes:

Where I’ll be:

Phone # there:

I’ll be back at:

If I can’t be reached, call

Name:

Phone:

Important Information

Police:

This address:

Nearest cross-street:

Insurance: Policy #:

House Keys are:

Car Keys are:

Garage Remote:

About the Child(ren)

Name/s: Age/s:

Weight: Height:

Medications:

Allergies:

Bedtime:

Other Information:

With so many women in the workplace today, and with so many more men taking an interest in their child’s care as opposed to simply going to work and leaving this responsibility to their wives, companies are taking notice of their employee’s desire for some flexibility when it comes to their jobs.

Here are some options that some employers already offer; if yours doesn’t, don’t hesitate to do some research on how one of these arrangements may work for you and then approach your manager or Human Resources Director with your request.

Flex-time. Some jobs lend themselves to working odd hours, and some employers are open to letting you flex your hours. Two parent families may be able to arrange their work hours so that their kids spend less time in childcare.

Job sharing. Job sharing is defined as two people employed to share the duties and responsibilities of one full-time position on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. The pay and vacation is divided up proportionally. The position is held jointly if both the job share partners accept the job offer. Finding the right job share partner may require some persistence and creativity.

Part-time work. Another option is scaling back your hours and working part time.

Working at home. This may involve starting your own home-based business (such as consulting or event planning), contract or freelance work, or telecommuting (the preferred term is now telework).