My Children Need Me

Kiss & Tell: Kiss Your Excuses Goodbye and Cozy Up to a Life You Love!
by Christina Waschko

“Help, I really want to start my own business! But, my three children are way too small, they need me. What shall I do? Shall I wait until they are older?”

This is a tough one, isn’t it? We are mothers!  Most of us put our family first. We want to be there and raise healthy, responsible, strong, loving, caring individuals.

And yet, we also want to keep on going with our own life.  We want to fulfill what’s on our own bucket list. Until of course, we’ve done this before we had our kids.

When I started my coffee shop our boys were eight, five and three years of age. We didn’t have family close by to support us in any way. We didn’t have a nanny or an au-pair (by choice). We didn’t use any after school facilities to look after them. So how did we do it?

It all started with the decision to make it work. I knew I had to raise our boys and my business at the same time- with the little help of my husband of course.

 Here is what we discovered along the journey:

Our children will always need us, regardless of how old they are. When they are babies and toddlers they need us to survive, to guide and protect them from the dangers of everyday living.

When they are older we still need to show them we care for them.

Children are so adaptable; they learn quickly and (normally) remain happy as long as they are with somebody who loves and cares for them.

Children go with the flow. As long there is a certain routine in their life, their life is good.

Babies are the easiest to work around with. They only sleep, eat, drink and poop.

Toddlers are the hardest to work with. You need radar vision and a high level of energy to keep up with them.

Here are alternatives to using a child care facility:

Let your child (ren) be part of your dream. If you are working from home work around them- while they are asleep, in the morning or at night.

Do you have a brick and mortar business? Take them with you!

Swap child care services with your friends.

Find a retired nann with time on her hands to come to your house. These ladies are experienced and normally are way more flexible than young babysitters.

If we allow our children to be our inspiration and not our excuse to follow our dream- imagine the  role model they grow up with…