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How am I going to survive being a stay at home parent?

You may be asking yourself this if you’ve recently taken the plunge to stay home with your children. Or maybe you have been forced into it because of school closures or job loss. Let me tell you, it isn’t easy, but it really can be rewarding (when you look back). It may not be for everyone, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to make the days go by easier, smoother, and help you keep your sanity!

Here are some ways to ease your transition to a stay-at-home mom or dad. Every day someone makes the decision to quit their job, pull the kids out of day care and join the stay-at-home parent ranks. For some, it’s an easy transition. For others, it’s akin to being on another planet, not knowing the language and expected to be in charge.

You can become a successful stay-at-home parent without your mind turning to mush and your self-esteem tanking.

Here Are 7 Tips To Survive Being A Stay At Home Parent:

1. Take a Short “Vacation” and Then Get Scheduled.

At first, you’ll find yourself wallowing in the glory of not being in the daily rat race. You might enjoy still being in your pajamas when your spouse comes home from work. Enjoy those first few weeks. And then get over it.

Get on a schedule. If your children have been in day care, they’re accustomed to a routine and may want it back.

Have set times for meals and activities. You don’t have to be a drill sergeant, but your child may get some satisfaction knowing that when it’s 2 o’clock it’s story time, or Thursday is library day.

2. Plan an Activity a Day

Don’t be surprised if your child turns to you on his first day out of day care and says, “What’s the craft today? And are we having a fire drill?”

Don’t panic. You won’t have to fulfill state safety requirements, but you can come up with a craft. In fact you can make being at home even more exciting than day care.

Now that they’re home during the day, it’s time to rediscover those toys in the bottom of the pile. Bring a different toy out every few days and watch it become a novelty.

Set aside an afternoon just for jigsaw puzzles. Write a screenplay together from a scene from your child’s favorite movie and then perform it. Pick dandelions and make tea. Make a movie with your home video camera.

3. Play Well With Others

Get together with other parents and their children often. Organize a playgroup for your child to interact with other children once every few weeks. Just make sure they are a part of a tight knit group to avoid sicknesses or any uneasy feelings!

The YMCA and other community organizations have scores of classes and events for parents and children to do together. Check your local newspaper for what is offered.

4. Do Something for Yourself

Every day, plan to do something just for you. It might be as simple as sitting on your porch with a cup of tea and a book for 15 minutes during the kids’ nap time. Set up a trade-babysitting trade with another stay-at-home mom so you can occasionally go shopping, see a matinee or browse the bookstore.

5. Don’t Let Housework Dominate

When you lost your income you may have also lost your cleaning service and other luxuries. You might find yourself sinking into the quicksand of cleaning, polishing, folding and organizing.

Put housework in its place. Remind yourself (and your spouse) that you didn’t quit your job to do housework. Spending time with the kids should be your primary concern. Sure, you can still fit in all the work that needs to be done, but don’t let it dominate the day.

6. Respect Your Time

Don’t fall into the trap of doing it all because you’re home. Baby-sit the entire neighborhood on the day off school? Wait for the refrigerator repairman, who has given you a 14-hour window for his ETA? Before you shout, “I can do that, I’m home!” put your hand down. And place it over your mouth.

Don’t be so eager to admit that you’re a stay-at-home parent now. Be assertive. Be choosy in what you volunteer for. Your time is still valuable, possibly even more so now.

7. Savor These Years

Keep a daily journal, take pictures and maintain big, fat baby books for your children. The routine times – bath time, in the car, in the grocery store – will be when your child says the funniest things, asks you the most meaningful questions, and brings you to tears with his honesty and purity. Pat yourself on the back for being there for these special times.