When it comes to your career change plans, you may find you have even less time for yourself and your children-especially if you have to continue to work while you are pursuing the new goals you have set for yourself. So in order to help balance things out, you may need to get creative.
When it comes to your children, it's not always about the quantity of time you spend with but more about the quality. If you have reserved some time to be with your children, make sure you are fully present. Make the time all about your children, and do what your children would love to do rather than what you want to do.
What most people want to know is that they are loved and cared about. So if you work many hours at a job each day or are spending time working on your new career plan or studying for a new qualification to get you closer to your career goals, there are things you can do that will help your children know you are thinking about them and that you care.
If you are apart from your children during the day, write your children little notes or draw a picture before you leave for work or they leave for school and put it somewhere in their backpack or lunch box where you know it will be found. If you are able to call your children or send them a text message sometime during the day, then do so each and every day so that they know you are thinking about them.
It's little things like these that go a long way in communicating to your children that they are important to you. Even though you may have to be away from children for many hours at a time, putting extra effort into letting them know they are on your mind and in your heart will help them to feel you are still with them even when you are not there.
When it comes to school, weeknights can offer very little time together. But little things like helping your children with their homework and asking about their day can go a long way. Just make sure you don't stop there. Take time to play a little game, like 'Simon Says' or 'I Spy'. Sit and read a book together. Pick them up and spin them around, play hide and seek, tickle them and hug them, even blow raspberries on their bellies. Kids love this kind of attention and it helps communicate your love for them.
If you work many hours Monday through Friday and have the weekends off, then be sure to set time aside to do something as a family, as well as spend one-on-one time with each of your children.
One thing I do each month is set up a Mommy and Me date with each of my kids. On that day, I will take only one of my kids out for a few hours and do something they want to do. Sometimes it will include going to lunch and a movie, other times we go and paint ceramics or shopping at the mall for a new outfit or toy. Having this one-on-one time with each of my kids really helps us to reconnect and bond. During these special dates, they will talk to me more about their friends and other issues in their life. They are even more open and affectionate. More importantly, these times make them feel special and important. And that's what it's all about!
Remember...you had your children for a reason, and that is because this was something you wanted in your life. So make sure to keep including your children in your life and letting them know just how important they are to you.