The Health Blog

The old saying tells us that the best laid plans of mice and men will fail. Not sure how complicated a life a mouse might lead when we’re not watching, but it appears well nigh impossible to plan our busy lives around work and family, without any of those additional “days off” devoted to teacher training, weather or illness!

It would be really nice if everything and everyone were flexible, including schedules and you could just drop everything without notice to care for your ill child.

1. If you can – plan. It’s true that some of these days are unpredictable, but others may be scheduled ahead of time. Of course nobody knows what the weather is going to do, but snow days only arrive during certain months of the year, whilst inset days are generally planned in advance and with a little bit of work can be sewn into the schedule.

Sick days present the biggest problem of all, of course. Prepare and plan as best you can, as you know that these days will surely come! If you are struggling with your planning, consider some professional coaching to help you get back on track.

2. Hoard your personal days. Both parents in your household might have to work due to regular commitments, in this case it is important to reserve some personal days for those sickness events. Talk to your human resources department at work and see if your employer will grant you a certain amount of personal days, allowing you to anticipate the scenarios as best you can.

You may well not have any advance notice, so you will need to look at this from every angle to make sure that you are being fair to all concerned.

Whichever way you look at it, there’s no denying that it helps matters if you and your partner have a sympathetic employer. It is very important that you do not use personal or sick standby days for any reasons other than they’re intended for.

3. Line up favours. If you have several children to take care of, you should come up with a backup plan as well. In an emergency, maybe you can rely on some care giving help from friends or good neighbours? These favours should be repaid in any way you can think of. With a number of emergency backup plans in place, you’ll be able to cope when a sick child or three comes to you.

4. Roll out the vitamins. While on the subject of coping with sick children, remember that any amount of prevention is better than a cure. Teach your children good personal hygiene, that they should eat well, should rest well and be in good health at all times, as they will be less likely to fall victim to those annoying, smaller viruses.

5. Be a good weather forecaster. Keep an eye on the weather forecast during the winter months. These days they are generally much more reliable and if you can see the threat of a blizzard a couple of days ahead, start making contingency plans accordingly. If a school district is closed, it might be very difficult for you to get to your work location as well, but if the office is open, see if you can count on one of those personal days or plan to work from home.

You might think you have to wear so many different hats, that you never know which one to put on.

Nowadays, online life coaching can really help you work out which part of your wardrobe to turn to on each occasion! If you’re in need of guidance, coaching for women can help you to manage and not panic!

Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!