working with young kids
Posted By: sm on 2005-07-28
In Reply to: On MT at home with kids... - Melissa Leonard
I have been working at home since my first child was a day old and all I can say is you get used to it and so do they since they don't know any different. I think it would be harder having them a bit older and then starting to work at home. I took short breaks for feeding but worked during the regular work day other than that, just had the baby lying on a blanket next to my chair or in a bouncer seat or sometimes on my lap, and as he got older he started playing next to my desk. The second time around I had twins, and well, that was a bit harder, but I fed them both at the same time and put them on the same feeding and nap schedules to maximize both work time and my sanity.
Ya do what ya gotta do.
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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 was at the store one day when a family with young kids came out.
The kids were fooling around in the parking lot and chasing each other around. One of the boys, who was approximately 10 years old, jumped up and ran across the hood of a parked car in his cowboy boots. He totally scratched up and dinged the hood of the car. The owner, a pastor at a local church, told the parents about it. The father denied it, then he tried to hit the pastor. The police were called. I took the car license number and testified as a witness. These people are just a prime example of the poor excuses for parents that our country is full of. The parents should have been publicly caned.
My parents would have beat my butt with a leather belt if I had dared touch someone else's property. They never had to, though, because they told us how to behave and enforced it. I'm not saying I never got spanked with a hand when I was young, but I knew it was a potential consequence. My own kids know if they dare to damage someone else's property, they will pay for the repairs and be punished. They are too old to spank, however, especially since they're bigger than me! LOL My kids also know what it's like to have their property stolen or damaged by other people.
I wouldn't, and didn't when the kids were young, but sm
these days I would find a responsible college student and pay them $10-12 per hour, with a minimum of the hourly rate for each separate trip.
to those of you who have young kids at home for summer
As I understand, daycare is a touchy subject here but I am looking for some opinions. I have been MTing for 10 years now part time. During that time I had my 3 kids. With the PT hours it worked out great. Now not too long ago I started FT (8 hrs/day). This has been since the school yr started. My older two are in school all day. My youngest is 2 and goes to the neighbors house. With summer coming all three will be home. Its tough because they are 10, 8, 2, the older two argue constantly it seems. I feel bad to have them have to take care of their 2 yr old sibling on summer break. They all go in different directions. I am weighing my options on what to do. Anyone else in this situation or have any suggestions? If I were putting less hours in I would have no prob. I understand a lot of you are able to do this with no prob, but it just doesn't work in my house unfortunately.
I agree wholeheartedly. Your kids are only young once. nm
nm.
48-years-young, single, 3 kids, 9 girl, 12 boy, 15 girl nm
X
WORKING WITH KIDS
I have an in home MT position with a company and I am required to work set hours pt. Does anyone have to work set hours and have an infant at home? Can this be done successfully?
working at home with kids
it's nice to hear all the positive things about mothers who work from home and have had good experiences keeping their kids home...I have had a different experience, though not negative, but honestly, my working from home and my kids knowing that I'm here was kind of hard in the sense that because I am at home, they think that I can stop typing and do for them...that is when they were smaller...now that my girls are older, they definitely respect my working at home, but when my son came along...it was kind of the same thing...he knows mommy is in a room typing at his home, and he wants to play with me or come in and talk or wants to go outside and play, which I would love to be able to do instead of work anyday! LOL but of course, as you all can relate to, we have to work!
Anyway, I just find it a little more difficult to work at home with kids...there are some days that I truly wish that I worked out of the home because it's stressful to try and work when you hear chaos going on in the other room.....not always, but typical arguing, my son crying about something, etc., but then when I look at all the good things that comes from that...me actually being here to go in and help them work through their problems, and knowing exactly what's going on in my home at all times, I wouldn't change it for the world and really feel fortunate, though I do have those moments when I'm ready to move my computer to my mother's house and drive to work everyday!! LOL
working full time with kids
If it is about taking off a couple years, there is nothing wrong with that. However, you just can't say that it cannot be done - because there are several of us here that, obviously, can do it.
I've been home working with my kids for 10 years now sm
I worked outside of the house for one year after my first boy was born. I hated leaving him. So I was home working by the time he was a year old. I really enjoyed it. 10 years later, I'm still working at home, and have a 6 y/o boy too. Both my kids are in school. I'm so thankful to be home so that I can get them off the bus, attend parties at school, go on field trips with them. I can take care of house chores and keep and eye on my three dogs. The only thing is sometimes I miss being around people, being able to leave my work at my job (at home it's here all the time). My hubby works midnights, so he's home during the day too, but sleeps. Sometimes I feel like I have no "me time". After my boys get a little older, I may get out of the house to work. Sometimes I would like to actually change my career to sometime more hands on with patients. I love the medical field, I've been doing transcription for about 14 years. Another plus for working at home with kids is if they are sick, you don't have to call out of work. You can do your job and take care of your kids. You don't have to look your best either, on those days or any days. I'm guilty for sitting here in my PJs a lot, not having any makeup on or hair fixed.
Good luck in the future.
Have to agree. Kids do make working at home "different" (sm)
Mine are grown, but the grandchildren occasionally are over. The oldest one will play his Gameboy or some cube thing all day and only occasionally ask to be fed. However, when the youngest one can't go do daycare for some reason my world is turned upside down. The granddaughter has it in her head that when I ask her to be quiet it means come over to my desk and whisper. All in all, it isn't too often that I have children in my house when I work. My hat is off to those of you who do it on a regular basis, you are queens of organizational/concentration skills.
Me, too. I told my kids that since they're not in school and I'm working two jobs
just to try to keep the utilities on, they get to do chores. Don't even get me started on holiday stress. My extended family sent me gift cards, so I'm using those to buy for the kids. I even offered to pay them $5 an hour for cleaning so they'd have Christmas money. Instead, what are they doing? Watching TV in their pajamas still. That's OK. I'm about to go unplug all the electronics in the house and give them a big chore list with NO pay.
If you don't have kids, have you considered working in-house at a doc office or the nearest big
s
I assure you, MTs NOT taking care of their own kids while working at home is NOT the rule. Its the
exception, and only on THIS negative board. I think that's why so many kid-hating MTs hang on this board, while all other MT boards are populated by MTs who not only work and LOVE their jobs, but also love raising their kids at home as well. So, please, don't go quoting exceptions and rules based on YOUR single opinion. There are LOTS of MTs who lurk on this board, who love their kids, and who have chosen to MT for the #1 reason to be with their kids, and they SUCCEED easily. To go with your thought process, honestly its just mothering skills - some mothers are just natural mothers and love it, while some...well, this board and the posts attests to their hearts...So many of you think one has to be a rocket scientist to MT, and even more of a rocket scientist to figure out how to amuse a baby for a day! Its NOT that complicated at all...not if one cares or loves.
It IS the perfect arrangement...no kids, no husband, and working at home...priceless!
:-)
My kids have suffered greatly from me working at home with them home. SM
I have been working at home as an MT since my two kids were born. They are now 4 and 5. In the first few years, I had no help whatsoever. Their father was a bum who didnt work or take care of them while I worked. Your children get neglected while you work basically. And babies and young children desperately need your attention while they are home with you.
My kids have so many behavioral problems right now because of their neglect. I would try to set them up with things to occupy themselves, like coloring or a movie, etc.
I finally put them in day care and things have improved, but there are still a lot of issues because of the damage that was done. They still try to seek attention by doing bad things and they dont listen to me because they are so used to me letting them get away with a lot of stuff because I was too busy typing to discipline them in their early years.
If I could do it all over again, I would definitely have put them into day care from the very beginning.
My advice would be to seek PT care for your baby. Maybe you can do some work around her schedule a little when she is home, like when she takes a nap, and then bang out a bunch of work while she is in day care.
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.
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.
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." 
never too young
I don't think you are ever too young to be worried about retirement! I wish I had worried about it sooner... you cannot expect a retirement check from any company, but you can do something about it yourself. Go to your local financial institutions and start your own retirement fund - just contribute a certain percentage of your check each time you are paid and no matter how many times you change jobs, keep doing it. It is there for you - you don't lose it just because you change jobs. But you are right to be worrying about your future - more of us should be doing that!
ah, to be so young...
...as to have never used tapes -- what a lovely feeling that must be!
I'm sorry but i think you are too young to be on this board!
x
Smart Young Man
Your son sounds like a very smart young man. Not many kids these days truly care about their education. They look at high school as a party/social time, and dont look into the future what so ever, and said thing is a lot of our children are not getting the guidance from home either.
My son loves to learn and loves to be challenged and with him being home schooled we are able to do so.
And one other positive note on home schooling college intrance exams have shown that home schooled kids are just as smart if not smarter than those who go to public or private schools. The one on one they get is a big big factor in that.
Best of Luck!!!!!!!
I don't see a problem if someone does it once because of (1) young age, - sm
(2) circumstances...this girl has no clue who the father is, that is clear, (3) where they are at in life...in school is no time to have a baby. She would possible drop out, not have anything but a high school diploma for the rest of her life. How do you support yourself and a baby on $15K a year? Does she have understanding parents? Will the father pay support?(she'd have to have all the guys she slept with in the time period of conception tested). Someone that that young is not cut out to have a child....I can remember very clearly how I was then, and many are just not ready for the responsibility. Yes, many see abortion as shirking your responsibility because "you play you pay"; but you have to decide what is good and right for you and your circumstances, and the only one who can make that decision is the person who has to bear and raise the child or deal with their conscious if they decide to get an abortion. It's nobody's business but theirs. I think people who purposely don't use any form of BC then just get abortion after abortion because they are too lazy to get BCPs or condoms are WRONG for doing that. But people who are (1) stupid one time (2) get raped (as my roommate was); (3) just too young, i.e. in their teens, very early 20s--- have 1 pass. If my daughter came home and was in HS or college and said she was pregnant and wanted an abortion I would support her decision. I plan on drilling it into my kids heads never to have sex w/o a condom though and hopefully they will never have an unwanted pregnangy. I suppose you think my thinking is screwy and that is fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion, that is what makes the world go around.
Wow, mine was young...
I got my daughter's ears pierced when she was 7 months old. I think I was 5 when my mom got mine pierced, and then I was 12 when I got my second holes.
Very young on both daughters - sm
Two weeks old on first daughter. One week old on second daughter.
Your young age is showing!
I remember the dictabelt, we had to mark it with chalk to know where to start it up. Talk about archaic! The times they are a'changin! (and for this part - the better!)
I don't know if you mean too young or too old. Companies
cannot legally ask you how old you are. I quess they can get an idea of age based on work history though or if you put educational history on resume. I'm nearly 50, but when I answer the phone I frequently have people ask to speak to my mother. I've been offered a position with every company I've ever applied to.
You don’t sound too old with a young kid
but in my town we have a consumer person (who is a millionaire but well known to be really tight with his money), anyway he was talking about a place where he buys his glasses and only pays about $8.00 for them and these are prescription glasses. I used to wear glasses, had Lasik and now 20/30 in both eyes- in about 2001, I think. For close up work such as newspapers or books, I go to the dollar store and buy the $1.00- This is for me, not saying everyone can do this. I see no sense in paying $200.00 for a pair of glasses when you can get them much cheaper.
I used to be young and dumb but
when I came into some money, quite a bit of it, paid all my bills off. I only have my monthly bills now, utilities and such. It is a wonderful feeling but to the original post, it is here money and really if she wants to burn it, she can.
Young man, listen up.
Your a very intelligent person and you seem really mature to the world. Inside you feel like you are crumbling, I completely understand that. Remember ther is always a tomorrow and always something better out there. If you are not happy doing the work that you are doing, its not the work, there is something holding you back. You definitely need to see either a therapist or a TRAINED medical profession to talk about this with. And don't wait, do it NOW. So many times people wait and it becomes too late. You are going to be fine and God will help you through any challenges you come across. If the physicians give you medications, take it. If it has side effects, don't stop taking it, call your physician and he can put you on another medication that does not have those side effects.
This is going to be a very long and very rewarding process and you will start feeling better about yourself. Don't give up and don't listen to people who just tell you to suck it up and get a job. Obviously they have been so lucky to never have experienced depression before. I pray that you will only have the best of luck in all you do.
you are young and dumb. The nerve of you to say
why have children if you are going to put them in daycare. When I was going to graduate school and working I became pregnant. I didn't expect my husband to quit his job and I sure enough was going to stop graduate school my six months. My triplets went to daycare and was fine.
I was 18--so very, very young! Still married though after 31 years!
Oh, to be young again -Mondays all I want to do is crash.
However, I saw a stupid young woman on
television last night talking about outsourcing and she is so stupid. She had that only being 1% of the jobs. She needs a real lesson in this. No way is it only 1% of jobs. I just felt like coming through the TV and smacking her around a few times. LOL. These young do not understand. Maybe they will outsource her job and she will look at things differently.
What was wrong with trying to teach them when they were young?
I learned to dust, wash dishes, clean my room, etc., when I was about 5 years old, and it was part of our routine. Every week our chores would rotate and as we got old, we learned more. Same thing with cooking. You obviously let this go too long but now is the time to change it, not when you have a nervous breakdown.
SADDLE OXFORDS! I was young when I
Lady Bug and Villager were to clothesmakers of my adolesence. I remember the first 'instant poloroid'. You had to swipe the picture with this special chemical and let it dry.
Kikis just young/immature and does not...SM
Patti - give it up...not worth your time or your expertise, nor any of us well-seasoned (decades) professionals, and be sure to take some time for yourself. 
Nope! No longer consider too young. sm
Early spay or neuter (also known as "pediatric" spay/neuter) is pretty common now for shelters. It's been studied and found to be safe, and it helps keep shelters from inadvertantly contributing to the pet overpopulation proplem that they're trying to help solve. Not all vets offer it though.
Lots of websites and info. about it if you go to Google and type in "early spay neuter" but here's one:
http://www.tracylanddvm.com/html/why.html
You don't have to wait until 6 months old any more. For dogs, my vet (who is very cautious and took a long time to change his stance that they needed to be 6 months old first) likes to spay or neuter at 4 months of age, because it's after they've had all their shots, yet it's before (with females) they've gone into heat/estrus for the first time (health benefit to that - see above website - don't wait with your female dogs! ;O) For cats, I don't know if they get this same benefit from being spayed before their first heat cycle. One reason my vet changed it to 4 months is because he said he's seeing more dogs go into heat earlier than they used to. (Good diet = maturing earlier, like people? His theory, anyway.)
BTW, and I mean this is the nicest way (not trying to be the spelling police! LOL) it's spelled "spayed" rather than "spade" in this instance. :o)
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!
My basset is not a couch potato like most, but he is young. nm
xxx
Unfortuntely, if you are young, a lot of times you DO have to be approved or (sm)
at least fight with them to pay it because of family history. This whole insurance business is such a racket.
I would be interested in knowing if they have young children too?
x
I started noticing Raynaud's sx when I was young.
I lived in Wisconsin. I thought I caused a problem my grandmother called "frost-nip" by letting my hands and feet get too cold while paying outside. Then when I worked in the OR down here (very cold environment), one of the anesthetists was complaining about her Raynaud's, and her hands looked like mine, so I realized I had it. I brought it up with my doctor, who assured me I didn't cause it. Since you seem to have developed it or just noticed it as an adult, do mention it to your MD. Raynaud's can be a condition in itself, or it can go along with something like lupus or scleroderma, so it might be important to discuss.
This young person deserves a treat.
Great story. Thanks for sharing. 
Anything traumatic dealing with young children gets to me (nm)
x
You are too young to be worried about long term, but
xx
Agree, but there will always be young moms who want to be home
nmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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