Everyday tips for working parents

Career and family: how to get a grip on everyday life!

Text last updated: 2023-04-03

Parents between work and family life: how to work better together

Children, job, partnership, parents, hobbies, friends - anyone starting a family usually quickly realizes that it is not always easy to meet all demands at the same time. Time is short and your own energy is limited. The daily challenge of balancing your own and other people's expectations can easily lead to excessive demands. This makes it all the more important to ensure a well-organized and equal distribution of tasks and a good balance between family, work and personal needs.

  • Strict planning: If you want to juggle your professional life and raising children, you need to be well organized. Agree with your partner who will take on which tasks. A weekly schedule can help.
  • Smart everyday helpers: Keep a calendar in which all professional and private appointments and events at nursery or school are entered. Family apps are ideal for arranging appointments easily and for collecting shopping lists and to-dos. This saves time and keeps things organized.
  • Prepare an emergency plan: Your child gets a fever overnight or school lessons are suddenly canceled? Flexibility is often required with children. Draw up an emergency plan that you can fall back on in challenging situations.
  • Accept relief: Seek outside support and don't be afraid to accept help. (Surrogate) grandmas and grandpas are often grateful to be included in the care. Build up a social network of mutual support.
  • More ease: Despite perfect organization in the family, things probably don't always go according to plan. Learn to improvise, not to set your own expectations too high and to be more relaxed when things turn out differently than expected. With children, something unforeseen always comes up.
  • Teamwork in the family: Divide the housework fairly. It can be fair to split everything 50:50 or to do everything together. Another option, for example, is for everyone to do what they are particularly good at. Always renegotiate these things and adjust your agreements. As the children get older, they can be involved according to their age and also take responsibility for individual tasks.
  • Reduce your ideal expectations: Don't be too perfectionist with yourself and your family. Lower the bar: exaggerated expectations only lead to frustration and unnecessary stress. It may be the store-bought cake for the school party instead of the homemade cake. Or a frozen meal instead of a freshly cooked meal. Ask yourself where you prioritize and in which areas you are prepared to turn a blind eye.
  • Say no more often: If it gets too much for you, simply say no to an invitation or helping out at the next flea market. Instead, give yourself a break to recharge your batteries.
  • Support each other: Whenever possible, team up with other parents, for example by driving to school and soccer matches or taking turns with after-school care.
  • Organize quality time: Plan conscious family time and think together about how you can make this family time positive. It's not just about the length of time, but about making the most of the time available for the whole family.
  • Talk to each other: Make sure you stay in contact with your partner and discuss your needs. Otherwise, there is a risk that the couple's relationship will be worn down between family and work. Take stock of the situation from time to time: How is the work-life balance working out? What is going well? Where are there problems? How can the problems be solved? What specific changes can you make? How can each partner get their rights and some time off?
  • Workplace design: Agree family-friendly framework conditions with your employer, such as flexible working hours or home office days. Set limits regarding excessive overtime or work emails after work and at weekends.
  • Parent health: Take care of your own mental health too. Take some time out where you can relax. If you feel overwhelmed and exhausted over a longer period of time, consult a doctor. Among other things, they can tell you about the possibilities of a mother/father/child cure.

Where can we find help and advice?

Having a family is a great blessing. But sometimes the challenges of everyday life can also become a burden. When the difficulties get out of hand, it is a great help to seek advice from professionals.

The services offered by the parent advice centers are free of charge and advice is available in person, by phone, chat or video - anonymously if you wish. The Familienlotse of Familienportal.NRW will help you quickly and easily find the right service near your home.

Further information Links to read more

The State Institute for Early Childhood Education and Media Competence ifp provides tips on creative time management in the family in its online family handbook.

www.familienhandbuch.de