Guest Author - Kelly Aveiro
For working moms, reuniting with your family at the end of the day can be both delightful and fraught with challenges at the same time.
Moving from the harries, stresses pace of the workplace into home life necessitates that we slow down, clear our minds and leave the worries of the day behind.
Homecomings present their own set of challenges for children as well. Children are often tired and hungry at the end of the day. In fact, this time is commonly known as the bewitching hour.
Each family develops their own unique rhythm and routine, but here are some tips to make this time easier and more pleasant.
1. Take some time to clear your thoughts before you walk into the door. You can do this before you leave for work or even while you are driving home. You may find that stopping off at the gym or going for a quick walk really helps you to make the mental transition from work to home.
2. Spend some time with your child before you get busy with chores or preparing supper. Put all other tasks on hold for 15-20 minutes and just focus on your child. Read a book, sing to her, play a game with her or just spend some time snuggling on the couch and talking about your day.
3. Take some time to re-connect physically. Hugging, cuddling, back rubs, wrestling or playing catch are all wonderful opportunities for physical contact.
4. Share your day with your family. This makes it easier for your child to tell you what his day was like.
5. Ask your caregiver what your child’s day was like. This gives you a good starting point for your conversation. For example if the caregiver tells you that your child spent hours building a huge tower out of Lego's you could say something like “Tell me about the big tower you built out of Lego’s.”
6. Simplify your evening routine so that you have more time to spend with your kids.
7.Share the responsibilities with your spouse or significant other. You could take turns to cook, bath the kids and so on.
8.Create space for some regular family time. During family time turn the TV and video games off and remove other distractions and focus on your family.
