Survival guide for a stay-at-home parent

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Being a stay-at-home parent can be a lot of fun but it comes with its side of challenges as well.

For starters, you give up an important piece of yourself by taking a break from your career and taking on a job which requires you to be on your feet 24/7.

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Among other issues that can arise, one is the need to entertain your kids all the time or be consumed with the worry that your kids might be bored to death if you don’t. But remember, no matter how many new lists of activities you come up with, you will never be able to keep up with your kids’ energy and pace. So you have to change the way you think about things.

Just like adults need some down time, so do children. They need quiet time to process the new information so they can process it. Therefore, let your child play by themselves. In fact, you can set them up with a puzzle or some art paper and step back.

Next, consider expanding your definition of “entertainment.” Adults may be able to differentiate between work and play but your child may consider everything play. For example, you may find that trip to the grocery store boring but to your child it may be heaps of fun. You can use the store as an educational trip, teaching them about shapes, weights and textures, fruits, vegetables, colours and so on.

One thing you need to remember is that a child wants most to be like the parent, so involve them in all your chores, like washing the dishes, cleaning. While doing errands may not be fun in the traditional sense of the word, but it will be a wonderful bonding experience for both of you.