Toughest part of being a work at home mom is....?

I’m still trying to find a home business that isn’t a pyramid scheme, telemarketing, or an out and out scam.

I am not a mother but I cannot imagine the distractions are anyone’s fault but your own as you are responsible for causing your children to be well-behaved. Consider giving them time windows to distract you and punish distractions outside those windows.

@malevolentbutticklish

Yes, those toddlers can be so pesky, not paying attention to the clock…

I’m not a mother, nore a child, but I have opinions… so here we go. How old are your kids? Old enough to work(able to stand on own & semi-functioning limbs)? If so, get them working for you. If you have little jobs that need to get done for your business, have them help. Staple packets together, put this in trash, put this file away, fetch me my lady briefcase. Anything that helps make your business job a little easier. It keeps the kids busy & you can pay them in gummy bears & they will be greatful…I know I would. They will also gain some respect for the hard work you do & see how difficult it is to be a multi-tasking mother. If the aren’t old enough to do small tasks, well, do you have a pet dog that can look after the kids while you work?

@malevolentbutticklish Considering you want your future wife to pop out 12 children and maintain a perfect body because to do anything less is “lazy”... I don’t really think you’re qualified to give parenting tips. That is, of course, just my personal opinion.

@Seek_Kolinahr: You are saying that my comment is somehow wrong because MoneyMakingMommy’s children are toddlers. Prior to my posting where did she say her kids were toddlers that I should have read? She didn’t say either way.

Children always start as babies, @malevolentbutticklish

It stands to reason that if there are WAHMs, there is a good chance some of them have young ones.

We all make or have made adjustments and compromises. As a stay at home mom/worker you don;t have to have your kids up, dressed, fed and to expensive daycare by 7:30 in the morning. You don’t have to lose pay and get the evil eye from the boss every time one of the the kids has a cold, goes to the dentist or has a school conference. You can get your laundry done while you work instead of 10 pm. You don’t have that hour or more commute either on overcrowded, sometimes smelly public transit or the expense of gas and higher insurance premiums. While you have kid disruptions you don’t have to deal with the office drop in, office gossip and office politics. You might have to deal with the occasional toddler tantrum but you don’t have to deal with the supervisor or client tantrum.

On the other hand work away from home mom’s get to talk to adults. Pick your poison..

@Seek_Kolinahr: So by the same logic “there is a good chance some of them have” older “ones.” Why isn’t that set of work at home mothers also entitled to advise? Why does all advise have to be aimed at toddlers or else there is a big problem from you with it?

@malevolentbutticklish

This question was aimed at all Work at Home Mothers. Your advise did not specify children’s age ranges, and did not offer any advice whatsoever other than “sequester your child and punish them if they bother you”.

It was the lack of help I have a problem with. You know you have no experience being a work at home parent, so just eff off.

@Seek_Kolinahr: Suggesting discipline is advise and it is telling that you think otherwise.

@malevolentbutticklish

I suggest you stick to answering questions on subjects with which you have some knowledge and experience, and leave the parenting to the parents.

@Seek_Kolinahr:
“I suggest you stick to answering questions on subjects with which you have some knowledge and experience” <== REALLY NOW?

This comes right after you state:
”
I’m still trying to find a home business that isn’t a pyramid scheme, telemarketing, or an out and out scam.
” <== By your own reckoning you don’t have any business answering this question. Looks like you have no experience working from home. Why don’t you leave working from home to the people who actually have worked from home in a non-scam capacity? Distractions and interruptions can diminish your productivity.

@malevolentbutticklish

Pointless to even respond… but yes, I have worked from home in several different capacities. However, none have so far been productive enough to become sustainable for the long-term.

However, your “I know you are but what am I” argument is irrelevant.

@Seek_Kolinahr: The point is that your “I’m not qualified.” argument disqualifies yourself. You are even further disqualified by your failed attempts at being productive. I believe that I am qualified to offer the advise that I have. I have worked productively in a house with a work-at-home-father. You have never worked productively in a house with children despite your efforts by your own admission. Your effort to disqualify me stems from the fact that you dislike me and has nothing to do with the validity of my answer or actual qualifications.

@malevolentbutticklish

Enough of the thread-hijacking. Just fucking drop it.

@malevolentbutticklish Your argument would be more persuasive if you hadn’t done your share of puffery here, too. lol

[mod says:] Let’s stick to the topic folks and turn the flames down a bit. The topic is:

Being an at home mom is hard enough….raising kids is the greatest honor in my opinion. But for those of us trying to be an at home mom AND run our own home business – distractions can really make you crazy. Other moms in the same boat – how do you maneuver this craziness!?

It depends a fair bit on your parenting style, the temperament of your kids, and how organized you are. My granddaughter would make any stay at home mom crazy in a week (being-off-the-wall-hyper WITH meds). And I’m so scatter brained, it’s a challenge to make sure my clothes match some days. But in a perfect world, it’s a combination of organization, patience, timing, parenting style, luck, and persistence, among other attributes. Oh, and a great sense of humor.

I’m not a WAHM, but I stay at home, and go to school online..so I have to time manage my school work so I can actually get it done. It was rough, because my son was going through the “I’m not napping” stage, and I was also pregnant and would have preferred to nap rather than do my homework.
I found that I had to sacrifice sleep to get my work done. I’d put my son to bed early, which means he’d wake up early…but it gave me time to achieve what needed to be done prior to me getting too tired.
How old are your children? I’d maybe try to set up a play area just for them…to color, play with playdough, puzzles. Or, you could put on a movie and that could give you some time. Good luck!

Fix a lot of crock pot meals that you can fix first thing in the morning and it can cook all day, so you don’t have to cook at night when you’re tired and the kids are cranky.

Then hire a high school girl to babysit after school for a couple of hours. When I had 5 children under 10, I called up the local home econimics teacher, and a local pastor I asked them to mention my need to their classes and I gave them my phone number. I got a number of calls, and I hired two of the girls. It worked out great. That gave me two whole hours a day to accomplish stuff that only I could do by myself.

Another option is try to find a mom nearby who has the same desires you do (to work at home). Take turns watching each other’s kids so you can each do your at home job.

Fully half the days, there IS no in-between. The business IS a full time job, and so is homemaking. You do your best to marry the two, work your ass off, and glower and walk away from anyone who is insensitive enough to make a snide comment. I literally do not have time for those idiots.

And as usual, Phillis gives a great answer. You win.

@snowberry You melt my heart. It’s been a total bitch. Thank you :)

@Phillis, Hey girl, I’ll have you come over and do our place. ‘Cept that we live in an apartment, and you’re only about a thousand miles away. Other than that…

@snowberry Bahahahha! Yeah, we’re on our way! We’ll be there in about….<looks at watch>......16 hours!

If your business is profitable enough, hire some part-time help. If not, consider dropping it until the children are in school. Perhaps you could schedule your work time when the children are asleep. I was a stay at home mom, but never tried to keep a business going as well. I home schooled my youngest son and my grandsons.

Thanks everyone for responding. My kids ages are 9 and 15 – though I’ve worked at home for 8 years….so I’ve had a baby on my lap and legos under my desk :-) Setting regular office hours while they are at school now has helped some. My daughter does help me with some of my Avon business activities. I think being isolated and alone is hard too – it’s different than going to work and having friends there. But that’s what makes something like fluther great – I get to “hang out” with cool people even though I’m working at home. Thank you again.