I need to work around my kids.
Posted By: Msla MT on 2007-06-11
In Reply to: If you are complaining of low pay, why?? - Pattie
I need to be able to work around my life right now. When both kids are in school full time next year, who knows what I'll do.
Complete Discussion Below:  marks the location of current message within thread
The messages you are viewing
are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select
the boards given in left menu
Other related messages found in our database
Kids are demanding and so is MT work. My question is how CAN you do this with kids, rather than how
When you have two young kids, 11 months apart, (like I stated they are now 4 and 5) and have been doing this since they were born with no help from their father and no family around, YES, the kids get neglected. Part time might work but living on one salary, part time, is not an option. How can you possible tell me that anyone with two young kids can stay at home and work a full-time, 8-hour shift, and still give their kids the attention they NEED. I dont care how good you are at multitasking and how great your organizational skills are. It is a very difficult thing to do. And I am offended by your post making it sound as if it is easy to do.
I do agree that it can depend on how well your kids behave and how well they are able to play on their own. But my kids were not able to play well on their own. They needed constant attention.
So please take the time to realize that there are people out there in different situations than your own.
Reading our posts should help you to understand that everyone has a different situation. I believe everyone should have the right to shares their experiences as it might benefit the original poster in her questions and concerns.
I dont think anyone should be bashed for taking the time out to write about their experiences. I dont usually come on here to argue but you really ticked me off with your post. And try reading the post correctly. I said next time around I would have put them in day care. What I DID do with them was set them up to an activity like art or put on a movie for them. Geez.
I have little kids, but plan to work around them.
I have no set hours, so when they are ouside playing (they stay out for a while), or when they are sleeping I will work. It is too insane when I try to work and they AR here. They don't really understand the job needs 100% focus. But since there seems to be a wealth of work weekends, I plan to take advantage of it and get the job security and money my family needs me to have.
I work around my kids. Mine are not as young as yours
but even when I had babies I worked before they got up, worked during nap time, worked a little after dinner when DH could watch them. With my last one I put him in a Mother's Morning Out program for 15 hours/week at a church 2 miles from our house for 2 years during the school year. I'm fortunate I have flexible hours that I can do that.
I feel like I work all the time too and my kids- sm
are always asking me if I have to work (usually I do). Lately though I have started trying to go to bed by 10 and get up at 3, work from 3am-6:30am, get them off to school, then I have all day from 8-3:30 available to work. Then be free for them after school and work again after they go to bed if necessary. I am still not disciplined enough though and work more than I should, i.e. surf the internet, come here, etc. Waste time in other words. So if I can "stay" on my butt and work consistently I can average 16 minutes of dictation an hour, which is good for me. All I can say is try to set up a schedule adn stick to it. I keep meaning to write one up, but have not as yet myself (did this for college and hung it on my wall), so maybe your post will inspire me. Good luck.
So, just simply summing it up. You have 2 kids, and they fight while you work, so you just
send them to daycare, and now they're "socialized". This thinking just is soooooooo beyond me! And you can all scream and call me negative, but its just a travesty. Daycare - daycare - the replacement mom of our society, and its NOT working. Kids these days are a mess - an absolute mess. I have no words to waste on this topic - its sickening. And for all the millions and millions of mothers who have NO choice but to leave the home and throw the kids in day care - sitting in an office with a heavy heart. Here you all can have the blessing of having your precious kids with you, but the slightest challenge - fighting? PLEASE! What kids don't fight? So, instead of training them yourself and teaching them to "socialize" with their own siblings, let alone their mother, you ship them off to daycare - Oh, yeah, there's the logical solution! Its just soooooooooooooo old, actually. Millions of Moms - even the big $$ CEOs, are realizing the fallacy of day care, and working from home to RAISE their own kids. Sure, its challenging, but the rewards are priceless, so cliche! Such an easy cop out to ship 'em off to daycare - let them "socialize" them...So what do your kids learn? Certainly not to behave at home. They're probably still acting out at home, while angels at daycare!
No kids, husband gone 12 hours, you work at home? SM
Priceless! That sounds like the perfect arrangement to me. I'm not kidding, either.
Did a whole 388 today....this is why I try not to work when the kids are home/awake - basically impo
x
I gotta work on Saturday, but on Sunday I'm going to take the kids to a Renaissance Festival.
And Monday, the kids and I are going boating and to a cook out at the lake with family. 
IF it is secondary income, where is the harm? As long as you work around your kids (at night, naps)
a big plus when you are around kids all day and bring in a little cash to help out the household.
Do little kids like caramel? My big kids won't even eat it! We make the basic Baker's chocolat
s
I never said you shouldn't have kids! Feeling guilty? I asked WHY you had kids.
You clearly stated in your post that you ship the kids off to camp all day, and they're TIRED AT NIGHT!! You know exactly what you said. You said it as a PERK - AS IN GREAT! They're gone all day, it wears them out, and so I shovel dinner in their mouths and off to bed! You can try to paint it any way you want, but YOU SAID IT. Again, I only hope your kids never hear you speak that way or write that way. Shame on you. Why have kids at all? Just another parent who has them, gets rid of them for day AND night, BRAGS ABOUT IT, and then calls ME wicked! Give me a break! Camp is fine - its WHAT YOU SAID AND YOU KNOW IT. Your own words showed your heart. Period.
Stayed "because of the kids?" I say "leave because of the kids"
You're in no position to buy right now. Keep saving, keep paying down your bills, and for heaven's sake get rid of that dead weight of a BF you're living with. You can do better.
So, should I return the $75 (x2 kids) in music cards I got the kids for x-mas...sm
My son has been telling me about free music sites and I was very leary. How do they skirt the law Radguy?
I don't have kids, but my Mom was from the "old school," and still had everyone, kids inclu
call her by her first name. The little neighbor girl next door from the time she could speak called her Aggie (my mom's first name), and they were great buddies until the day my mom pased away.
I don't think there really is much in a name, but more in the respect you are given and the way you are treated. Personally, I kind of cringe inside when someone calls me Ms. Anything or God forbid, "maam" (makes me feel like Methuselah!) ... I'm always just plain Merrie. :-)
But, as someone pointed out, to each his own. If you want to be addressed a certain way, you have that right, and people should respect that. I'm glad you corrected the child ... hope it "sticks." 
Pay kids work around office, renovate office.
x
Please do not simply give up, kids or no kids!
Talk with a professional. This can be worked through if he really puts forth the effort and you participate. The right counseling can truly make your marriage even better than it was before, if BOTH parties are willing to be honest. Give it a try. Nothing to lose at this point and everything to gain!
If I work when the kids sleep, when will I sleep?
I understand what you are saying about the kids will always bug me no matter what. I just thought that if I had a job where I didn't have to hear dictation and type word for word that maybe it might be easier to block out the kids. There are no babysitters to watch the kids around here, besides that is why I work at in home in the first place. The kids are 2 and 5 so hopefully it will get easier.
Thanks
I get my work from an FTP site that they load the work to, however I don't have pool work so to
speak, but I tell them how many minutes a day I want. The work is generally put in my box by 5 pm every day, then I have until 10 am the following day for some priority work, or 3:30 pm for the rest, so TAT is not too bad. I would like to work less at night though, but I working on that. My downside is I do not get the same dictators day to day, there are a few I do on a semi-regular basis though, some generate great lines but take longer to do that other doc's and are not "money-makers", I also do not get paid for spaces so that hurts a bit too. This is WP5.1 too.....so very antiquated but that is what the hospital uses, so not much choice there. But I understand what you mean about the C-phone. I was just doing another job with C-phone recently...they incidentally did not tell me how to get off of the system, which was very simple. I'd finish a job, then hit stop and hangup if I wanted to get off or quit working. That is what you need to do if you want to sleep, eat, etc. Don't feel guilty, do what you signed up for, believe me they watch the pools and will get others to do the work you don't finish. If they get on your case remind them that you are only PT and only want 500 lines a day, etc. It's not worth killing yourself over. Good Luck. 
No I said thank God I do not have kids
I think the wrong point is being taken here. Yes he does not worry about money and is used to that. I am afraid of not making ends meet if I stop working my day job and I refuse to stop working either MT jobs as we all know it takes a lot of education to make it.
I am my kids mom
My children are lucky to have their mother taking care of them, not a stranger. I work my butt of taking care of my kids and have made many sacrifices to be able to live this life of working PT and being a full time mother. I know that I am my kids mom.
I know that it must be hard for you to look at your kids and tell them that you don't want them to be with you everyday. The sacrifices could be made.
Thank God you have no kids. NM
x
How much can you get done with 2 kids?
I haven't done transcription for a few years and would like to get back in. My question is--if you don't mind me asking--how many lines a week can you get done with kids? Is 1000 reasonable or way out there? I have 5 kids, but 3 of them will be in school during the day and the other two nap...any advice?
For kids
Tacos, as son to work and daughter off too, and me and hubby home made wedding soup, ummm ummm good, and sweet italian sausage on hard rolls, not stale, just good.
28 WF, M, 2 kids. nm
nm
Kids come first for both of us, then each other, I don't think I'd want a man who
and catering to me constantly. I like the fact that he does all the cooking, and most of the grocery shopping and gets me things I like w/o me having to ask him to buy them. I do the same for him. We don't get much alone time but enjoy what time we do get together. My man does a lot other men don't but doesn't act like a doormat either.
Same here... kids come first, then each other. sm
Our kids are still at home, and the kids come first. I've seen lots of other parents who put themselves/each other first, and the kids always seem to be second thoughts to them. That's not how it works in our family. We're all equally important, but the kids' needs come first. If I only have $30 and we all need shoes, the kids get them first. I wouldn't have it any other way.
How old are the kids?nm
We have three kids.
x
DH does his own. So do the kids.
I used to have Mount Everest on the basement floor every single day and then I just got fed up and stopped doing laundry except for my own and household items, i.e., towels, etc. Half of the pile was clean stuff that I had folded and put in the kids' rooms that they just put back in the pile when they "cleaned" their rooms.
It took them a while to adjust, but the youngest was 8 and the older ones were 12 and 17 and I left their stuff in the mountain until they realized that they couild actually work the washing machine AND the dryer. They also know if they put the washer on the extra small cycle for only one pair of pants, one shirt, one pair of socks and one pair of underwear for themselves, and I actually find it, it gets hauled out of the washer and thrown back on the pile wet.
And don't even think about not scraping AND rinsing your plate. You won't get fed.
hee hee 
I
yep and even KIDS..........nm
xx
How many kids do you have?
x
My kids are now in their mid-20's and
we always had them save their money. I'd give them $20 of their paychecks and put the rest in high-interest CD's for them.
My son recently used the money from his childhood savings as a downpayment on his house.
My daughter is using hers to pay off her student loans from college.
They are now very responsible savers/investors.
Teach them young. It's a great learning experience that can be applied to the rest of their lives.
We pay our kids...
to watch the baby, but it works like this. They are 14 and 16 and the "baby" is 4. They watch her for more than 2 hours, they get $6 an hour. Those first 2 hours are considered just being part of our family.
It would be the end of it for me. Not something I would want as an example for the kids, either.
x
Do you have kids?
x
Your kids will be gone before you know it.
sound like an experienced MT and I'm sure if something happens to the job you have, you can find another one with no problem. And there are ALWAYS hospital jobs open. When the time comes that you need it, a job will be there. Don't stress out over it and enjoy the time you have with your family. That time goes by so fast. We really are lucky or blessed or whatever you want to call it to be able to do what so many people would love to do - bring in some income and still stay home with our families. MT has served me well over the years. I never tried to work with little babies or toddlers, but have ever since they got a little older. AND - so many kids are own their own between the time that school is out when a parent gets home. I saw my kids' friends through middle school and high school just run wild after school, cause there was no one to know they weren't home or to even care. I realize my kids would have been running with them if I had been at work - and I'm glad I was at home!
I have kids to think about
I'm a single mom. No way am I dragging my kids around the country constantly for any job.
Yes, I do just like most have kids but
I used to work in an office and do not let them or others interfere with my working. It is called teaching your kids, I believe. Same works for all outsiders I know. Oh, for your info, I mostly was telling the person above how to save on costs (they mentioned about how much more it cost working from home, things you can take off on taxes and the like. I saw nothing wrong with it myself. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?
Sorry kids?! You are QA?
What do YOUR kids have to do
Not everyone chose this career in order to stay home with their kids. I know I didn't, and I worked inhouse first. I liked the job and mastered it outside the home; then took the opportunty to work at home once I was a good MT, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Don't assume everyone joined this profession merely to sit home with a bunch of rugrats. Some of us actually consider it a career, vs an alternative to paying a sitter, or a supplement to hubby's income. So leave the hubby and kids out of it, many MTs don't have either.
Use the kids for an example...
If you have kids, they do that yearly testing and the classrooms always send out a printed sheet to make sure your child is psychologically and physically ready for the test.
I don't remember all of the tips, but one was to make sure you've had plenty of rest the night before and to eat a good breakfast so being hungry or having low blood sugar at test time doesn't interfere with your processing abilities.
Not a lot, but I think those are 2 pretty good tips. Nothing can be as distracting as an empty tummy or being amped up on adrenaline from lack of sleep or being tired from a sudden drop in blood sugar.
I'm going to tell you just as I always told my daughter. Just do your best, no one can expect any more nor any less from you.
Good luck to you!
You could do it with kids
I have 3 kids at home all day long while I work. I don't recommend MT though. MT34+ is right...its not what it used to be. I'm thinking about medical billing/coding myself. I think they make a little more too, although I would like to work in a hospital to do it.
I did it before I had kids so that when I did (sm)
have them I could stay home. I thought it would be better for me to be established in this field. I have 2 more years and my youngest will be starting school. I have been in this business since 1996. So, in that sense it has been good to us, because I was able to raise my children and not send them to a daycare, which was my dream.
My kids. sm
After my husband died, I wanted to move out of the city and work from home in order to be there for my 3 boys. I was working for a law firm, and I did not like it.
I took an at-home course and moved south. I volunteered at a hospital for 8 weeks in the MT department, and they offered me a job after 6 weeks. I moonlighted to get clients so when JCAHO came in, I got laid off, but I had clients by then. The great thing was that during the night there had been blizzard that came through. I could literally cross the yard and be at the hospital to work, but I was at home enjoying the beauty of the snow.
My kids are grown now, and I feel so lost. The money in MT is drying up, with EMRs and national companies entering the scene. I'm afraid I didn't keep up or at least learn to work for national companies sooner. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do from here. I'm greatful I'm working and being at home, but now I make less than $1000. I used to pull in about $3000 a month.
Went to school for computer repair, but it was not a course to prepare me for A+ certification. Waiting to start a mentor program for acute care transcription.
Sorry for the long post. I'm hopeful things will change, but it's really testing what I'm made of.
The kids are going to bug you any time you're
not focused solely on them. That's why mommies never get to go potty by themselves, talk on the phone, go shopping, read a book, or any of those other fun things that we used to do before children. You're going to need to concentrate on medical billing as much as medical transcription. Plus, I don't know that there's really as much of a market for it. I tried to get into it before I got into MT, but those ads are often bigger scams than the other work at home ads. A lot of the hospitals and clinics don't use medical billing services because it's all been automated through their computer system.
The transcription will get better when your kids get older. If your kids are interrupting you that much, what about hiring a neighborhood teen to "babysit" or entertain them for a few hours? You can pay a younger teen less since you'll be there anyway. Work while the kids are asleep.
Kids at home?
Do your kids stay at home and how old are they? I have three, one that is 9, 4, and 1, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to type this summer. I am considering a sitter once school starts, so I will be all aone during the day. What do you do?
My thoughts exactly. Thank God I don't have kids! nm
LOL!!
Now that was romantic. No wonder you have no kids.
On MT at home with kids...
I haven't read all the responses yet (I'm trying to get some work done tonight, too!), but I thought I'd just add this, in case one of the reasons you are thinking about doing this is to stay home with kids. If not, just ignore this. That's why I am doing it - I quit an office job when I had my second son, stayed home for a few years with both kids, but living on 1 income became increasingly difficult. Now my kids are preschool/school-aged, and I have been doing this for about a year, working 25 hours a week now. The biggest pro is the biggest con - you're home with your kids. Yes, I'm here if they need me, I can drop everything and pick a sick kid up from school, I don't have to pay for child care or feel guilty over child care.
That said, being here and working with head phones on is NOT the same as being here and paying attention to my kids, and boy do they know it! Very often, I find myself feeling so frustrated because no one is ever happy - the kids aren't happy because I'm not with them, my husband's not happy because he has to deal with the kids as soon as he gets home (of course he's also not happy that we don't have more money!), and I'm not happy because it takes me twice as long to get my lines in as it would if everyone would just leave me alone.
Can you tell I'm having a bad day? (I am so ready for school to start back up!) LOL! Some days are much better, and overall this is the best option for me. I can work in whatever clothes I like, take a break, answer the phone, etc. I can work with my cat curled up on my printer and my dog panting at my feet! I definitely don't miss office politics, panty-hose, and commuting. Sometimes I miss the company and the occasional office gossip, though. ;-)
Anyway, just be aware that if you are planning to work at home with kids, it really will take you much longer. I honestly don't know how people with very young children do this - unless they work through naps and early morning or late nights. I do mostly evening and weekend work, with a couple of hours during the day 3 days a week.
Good luck to you! Hope this helps!
Mel 
At least somebody's kids are getting disciplined
Hopefully, they'll expand into more schools now that we've seen what mollycoddling does to kids and the effect that has on the rest of the world.
I spank my kids, sure, but that's for me to do. No
z
|
