Recording: Working, Parenting, and Balancing the Two

By Mary Garcia

Meetup Live’s Success Series kicked off its first installment with this special event to celebrate Parenting Awareness Day. Watch for a discussion on navigating work life and home life. Learn about challenges that parents face striking a balance between obligations at home and at the office, even when your home is the office. We’ll conclude with actions you can take to manage stress and be there for the people counting on you.
Special guest Amy Nelson, Founder of The Riveter, joined us to share her experience as a working parent while leading a company.

Main takeaways on working and parenting:

• You shouldn’t try to do this alone, if you’re a single parent or even if you’re married.
  It’s too isolating, and it’s something that it’s a time in your life I really think that community becomes so incredibly important. 
• I would also say that it’s really important to maintain an open line of communication with your workplace and with
 your manager, and the time before you go out on leave.

  Before you have the baby and before you update your boss and your team about your leave, make concrete plans so that you’re not drawn
 back into work 48 hours after you had a baby.
• If it’s at all possible, think about how you can ramp back into work after you’ve had your baby.
  For example: Can I work 50% for two weeks for hopefully a month, even a week, just so you’re getting used to that going back period.
• A lot of people still talk about maternity leave. But here’s the thing. If you say at the beginning, “it’s maternity leave,” then it becomes the mother’s job at hour zero to be the primary parent, and that cannot be how it is. If that is how it is, women
 will never get to pay equity women will never be promoted.

Top Q&A Questions/Resources:

• Do you have tips for parents who make a minimum wage and don’t have enough money for childcare, other or other basic needs?
  • That’s incredibly hard. I hope I just touched on it a little bit with finding the resources collectively in the community, and where we can find collective care is really important.
    I mentioned the concept of a nanny share but there’s also swaps. If you have somewhat of a flexible schedule, people will swap childcare. It’s a path, it’s not good enough and it’s not the right answer, but it’s something.

• What self care advice do you have for a single parent who has a special needs child with very little external assistance?
  • I think a lot of times we think we’re more alone in the world than we are. If you have those friends, even asking once a month, and if they’re able to spend time with your special needs child, I would really recommend doing that even if it’s just for an hour.
    Finding moments that you can try to take care of yourself and listen to yourself and let things not be finished and perfect is something we can do for ourselves too.

• Any advice to someone making a career change, who is also retraining or going back to school and being a parent at the same time.?
  • I think when you’re making a career change and you have kids, it’s a perfect opportunity to try to define your life more as the way you
 want. To build and work with people who will embrace you as a parent.
    I would be really clear with people.  I think we’re really all afraid to be clear with people and we think we’re going to get fired or not going to job – but if you’re good at what you do, you will still get a job,
• Resources
  • PEPS Program For Early Parent Support
  • Sleep well

Meetup Team

Last modified on July 27, 2021