Any ideas for working at home?

[pink76]

I'm due to go back to my part time job in september, my dd will be 5 months by then. Wonder if anyone has any advice or ideas on working from home as I want to be a full time mum.

[EachPeachPearMum]

bump (and lurk!)

[stillenacht]

www.moneymagpie.com

i think they are quite useful

[kingfix]

What sort of work do you do? Do you know anyone else who does it from home?
I love working from home, but I like having a day or two in the office to have the friendships, conversations, know what's going on etc.
Also, even when I'm working at home, dd is in nursery (but she is nearly 3, not 5 months so it's completely different!)

when you say you want to be a full time mum, does this mean your dd will be with you while you work? FWIW, I find this impossible and have to do any work at night, which is (a) tiring and (b) means you nave no time to yourself/with your partner.

good luck

[pink76]

I work in a pharmacy so I can't take the work home.

My bloke is self-employed so if and when I do go back to work he will take her to his parents (he works from their house) and I'm worried they will take over.

Just don't want to miss out too much on first words, first walking etc

[LupusinaLlamasuit]

You may find it difficult to work at home with kids around. I work from home a lot but cannot combine it with childcare.

[violethill]

If you want to be in paid employment then you need to use childcare. So that's the first thing to sort. You can't work with children around at home.

It sounds as if you haven't properly investigated this at all tbh. You seem to think the only option is to let your dd go to your parents-in-law and you aren't happy with that. So that's the first thing to sort. There are fantastic CMs and nurseries out there - don't be bullied into using relatives you aren't completely happy with.
Once you have childcare you're happy with, then decide what you want to do - but imagining someone is going to pay you to do a job while you're at home in charge of your child is living in cloud cuckoo land I'm afraid!

[kingfix]

Hi pink, if your dd's 5 mo in sept I guess she's only a few weeks old now and the whole thought of going back to work seems completely impossible. You don't have to make up your mind now, you have got time to investigate childcare options and things you could do at home, part time etc.

Obviously the kind of work you can do at home totally depends on your type of work, skill, experience, where you live etc but if it's what you decide you want I'm sure you'll work something out when the time comes.

FWIW, I have worked 2 or 3 days a week since DD1 was 8 months old and was there for all the first words, steps, tantrums etc and her dad, who works full time and long hours is still her most beloved person in the universe, so working doesn't necessarliy mean you won't be as close.

[NickiSue]

I work from home and have built up a good income from it but its not easy or instant earning - its takes time and you need to be super-organised!
I'm happy to talk to you about the ins and outs from my point of view (most positive but there are downsides) but dont want to post too much or it'll look like an advertising thread which other people have paid good money for. Fell free to eamil me though: [email protected]

Also look at www.mumandworking.co.uk

And consider taking your own interests and experience and using them to raise your income.

Good luck xx

[pink76]

Thanks for that, lots to think about. Violet hill - assuming you have children, my dd is only 5 weeks old, so as you can imagine cloud cuckoo land is the only place I live right now

[MissSunny]

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[solidgoldSneezeLikeApig]

It depends very much what your skills are, but if you don't need to earn huge amounts of money, there are things you can do which bring in a bit extra and get you out of the house and interacting with other adults, such as party plans/Avon/Bettaware/Usborne. You can do some of those and keep your child with you as they are either door-to-door catalogue and delivery stuff or (Usborne in particular) things you can do at toddler groups, however the money is not that much unless you really push it hard, and it is not predictable either.
Chatline work is an option but it doesn't suit everyone and again the money isn't great unless you can put in a lot of hours - and it's no good with an active toddler at home unless s/he sleeps well at night.

[MissSunny]

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[solidgoldSneezeLikeApig]

Perfectly accurate vision TBH. You don't really think that chatline ops are sitting there in their suspenders with a jar of honey and half a vegetable garden do you?