One of the difficulties working mothers face is when their children get sick. While the majority of mothers have sick days they are able to use when their children get sick, there are many working mothers who don’t have sick days. When this is the case, it can be very difficult to manage work and home life.
The first thing you need to establish is a backup plan for when your children are sick. Without one, unexpected illnesses can become very hard to handle and cause excessive stress. Below are a few tips for establishing a backup plan.
Include Your Spouse. For some reason, many mothers think that it is their duty to be the one who stays home with their children every time they get sick. However, there isn’t a law in any state requiring this. Therefore, get your spouse to help you out when the kids get sick. An easy way to handle this situation is to take turns staying home with the children. If you are both in agreement to this then it won’t be an issue or stressor when a child has to stay home from school.
Talk to Grandparents. The great thing about grandparents who live close is that they are generally more than happy to watch their grandchildren if they can. So, if your parents (or spouse’s parents) live nearby and don’t work, then consider asking them if they would be willing to be a backup babysitter if the children get sick and need to stay home from school. It is a good idea to try and work out another “plan of attack” before you call the grandparents, but you can never have too many backup plans.
Can You Work from Home? There are many working mothers who are able to work out an agreement with their bosses for when their children get sick. One of the best solutions is to be able to work from home. With the technology available today, many working mothers are able to complete most of their work at home on their home computer when needed to. If you see that there is a way to do this with your job, discuss it with your employer as it’s a win-win scenario for everyone involved. You’re able to stay home with your children and not take a day off work, and your boss will be happy knowing that you’re getting work done at home.
Save Personal Sick Days. For the working mothers who have sick days built in to their benefit package at work, save them. Most adults don’t worry if they have a low grade fever the night before and end up going to work the next day, but schools are beginning to tighten up their rules regarding this. It is not uncommon for schools to require that your child stay home until he has been “fever-free” for 24 hours. Therefore, try to save your personal sick days for when your children are sick because kids get sick much more than adults, in normal circumstances.
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