full time mum but want to use brain constructively

[juiceluce]

i haven't got much time - like most of us. and i don't want to change my full time mum and self employed status. BUT i would also like to do something not mummy-related/something useful/new/stimulating (whatever) whilst i'm in this mummy stage - so that i continue to use my brain, have something interesting to do/say, and potentially expose me to new avenues which might become careers once kids are at school. Anyone experienced this craving and what have you done about it??? i really probably only have an evening a week (if that) or a couple of hours here and there in the day, occasionally. Am i being mad/over ambitious to even think like this?

Sounds completely normal.

What are your interests and can you go out for evening?

You can look at online uni courses that are free or courses at a local college?

I suppose you mean "stay at home mum", because everyone, if they're a resident parent, is a Full Time parent.
I'm a SAHP, but I manage to use my brain, and also, somehow, find interesting things to do and say, all the time. Perhaps I'm significantly less inteligent than you. Or maybe I'm a lot smarter than you. At least I know not to piss off the majority of my target readership in my opening paragraph.

Advice? Become a Beaver leader, listen to Radio 4, be considerably more diplomatic.

I have no idea how that's offensive! Do some of those free online courses is it MOOKS they are called?

Listen to radio4. Read. Do some voluntary work. Do an evening class in Latin. Take up a challenging hobby. Do an OU course.

Being a mother does not mean you have to be unstimulated...it's all down to you.

thanks to all. no offence meant to anyone.

Juiceluce - i think you got some really harsh comments there. Totally out of order when you were asking a very straight forward question. I have only ever posted a question once before and felt even worse afterwards due to the responses i received! Hope you managed to find your own answer anyway

Could you volunteer? There could be all sorts of interesting things you could get involved in which could potentially help towards a future career.

OU or other classes could also be beneficial.

(Btw the "full time mum" thing just presses buttons for some people. I work out of the home for 3 days a week but I'm certainly not a part time mum!)

I hate the phrase "full time mum". Is your partner a "part time parent"?

Anyway, this is what volunteering is for! There is bound to be a community group near you crying out for help & you can spend as much or as little time as you like.

Ignore them, OP. They were just looking for something to be offended by. I did evening courses in finance and computers when Dd was very small. Then when she was at school I volunteered in the sector I wanted to work in and, now she's in junior school, I'm going to work on a self-employed basis using the skills I've been building up over the past few years. Do you have a job in mind in case you want to return to work outside the home at some point?

Or are you looking for hobbies/ interests?

I totally understand where you are coming from OP. What about doing an online language course (unless you are, of course, already multi-lingual)? The BBC have courses, which are free and a good place to start.

Or what about starting a blog about a subject for which you are passionate?

What about computer repairs , you could do the research at leisure on the net. I can pull most laptops and computers apart and am self taught. Most common faults are quite east to spot and fix . Build a computer from scratch first. Then you will have a good idea . Buy a motherboard and match cpu and memory yourself . I am a bloke so maybe I have not understood where you are coming from. One thing for sure mending computers will keep your brain active

Meh. I've been working since my first was born and while certainly I was still a mother at work, I fully appreciate that the workload of motherhood was minimal in comparison to what it is now I'm at home, having had to take some time out of paid work due to a change in family circumstances. I wasn't tuned into my kids when in a meeting sixty miles away, just because I'd have left if they had a sickness and needed me. It's so precious to pretend you're as 'on' as a parent when you're somewhere else. You're just not.

Do you have any plan for the job you want to do when you go back to work, do you know when you plan to go back. I'd start with these points and make a plan of course, volunteering, research and reading to get yourself on the best position you can to get that job when you are ready for it.