Working Mother Topics
This section discusses the issues and topics that mothers face in the workplace.
Co-sleeping and Returning to Work
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- Parent Category: Parenting Advice
- Category: Sleeping, Working Mother Topics, Sleeping Advice for Babies
The following thread originally appeared on our Working Moms Group about how to transition from a bed-sharing situation with your little one and returning to work.. Be sure to check out more general advice from PSP members about co-sleeping here!
How to Make Work and Two Kids Work
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- Parent Category: Parenting Advice
- Category: Siblings, Working Mother Topics, Working Parents
A parents asks the Working Moms Specialty Group how to they manage working and transitioning from one kid to two...
Working Moms Pep Talk
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- Category: Working Parents, Working Mother Topics
When one mother wrote to the group worried about going back to work, positive responses came pouring in. Here, we pulled together their replies. In sum: you got this!
Separation Anxiety with Baby: Adjusting to Nanny
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- Parent Category: Advice - Childcare and Education
- Category: Nanny 101, Working Mother Topics, Back To Work, Transitions, Nanny Relationship Advice
Working moms talk about how their baby adjusted to nanny and overcoming baby’s separation anxiety.
Can working parents realistically pick up their children from daycare/preschool at 6pm?
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- Category: Working Parents, Working Mother Topics, Childcare Advice, Childcare and Working Parents
A PSP member asks the group how working parents can realistically pick up children from daycare by 6pm. Members share their experiences of how they manage busy work schedules with strict pick up times.
Work/Life Balance—The Conversation Begins
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- Category: Working Parents, Working Mother Topics
One simple question on one of the PSP lists about starting a new job after maternity leave evolved from a conversation of practical advice to an engaging dialogue about the political system, social dilemmas, and work culture policies surrounding and impacting parenthood. This summary pulls both the practical tips and political critique that came out of this lively conversations...
How to Stay Organized and Get Focused
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- Category: Working Parents, Working Mother Topics, Home Management Advice
Parents share how they get organized at work (and also at home) and talk tips, strategies and more about how to stay focused on the job.
How to Tell Your Spouse You Don't Want to Work With Them
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- Category: Working Parents, Working Mother Topics
In these tough economic times where the job market is hard, sometimes you want your partner wants you to help work your connections for them and get them a job. But what happens when you don't want to work with them? Here is one member's story, and the advice she received about how to handle it.
PSP's Guide to an Awesome Resume
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- Category: Working Parents, Working Mother Topics
We share our resumes do’s and don’ts - plus advice from PSP members about how SAHMs handle the employment gap when they transition back to the work force.
Back-to-Work Anxiety
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Work/Life Balance Resources, Back To Work, Working Mother Topics
A mom faces a return to work with deeply mixed feelings. Some advice on how to navigate this transition.
How to connect your way into your next job
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Career Resources, Networking Resources, Working Mother Topics, Freelancer Advice
One parent shares her tips and resources that keep landing her new jobs.
Back To Work With a Baby
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Work/Life Balance Tips, Back To Work, Working Mother Topics
Here are some tips, words of wisdom, and general advice from Park Slope parents on how to make the transition back to work with a baby as smooth and as stress free as possible…
How to Negotiate Work Life Balance When Job Hunting
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Work/Life Balance Tips, Working Mother Topics
From setting up creative work schedules like coming in early, working from home, after bedtimes, Moms from the PSP Working Mothers group talk tips about how to find, negotiate and juggle the Work/ Life Balance.
Decompressing: How to Unwind After Work
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Work/Life Balance Tips, Working Mother Topics, Back To Work
It can be very difficult to switch gears, especially depending on your job and your commute. How do working parents unwind? Here are tips from PSP working parents.
PSP Member Discussion: Work life balance and liking what you Do?
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Work/Life Balance Tips, Working Mother Topics
The Park Slope Parents’ Law specialty group discussed how to maintain a work life balance in an industry notorious for its long and demanding hours.
Would you keep the job you have now if you didn't have kids?
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics
Would you keep the job you have now if you didn't have kids?
Negotiating Hours at Work
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents
You’ve found a dream job, but maybe not a dream schedule. How do you negotiate the hours you want?
The Impossible Juggling Act: Motherhood and Work
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents
In one of our Baby Groups, moms talked about “having it all” – or rather, debated the realities and the myths surrounding it. One working mother shared this poignant piece by Anne Marie Slaughter (read the full text over on The Atlantic), sparking an interesting debate in the group. This article summarizes snippets of this thought provoking topic and the hot button issues it presses.
Balancing Work Travel and Parenting
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents
Working parents talk about how to balance working, traveling and being a parent.
The Real "I Don't Know How She Does It" Moms
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics
PSP working moms talk about how to get it all done. Read their tips, parenting hacks, and not so well kept secrets about how to balance the dinners, the packed lunches, the PTA meetings, kids afterschool classes, work, working out, grocery shopping, and more.
Pumping At Work Tips for Breast Feeding Moms
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents, Breastfeeding & Pumping, Back To Work
Moms who pump at work are more and more a routine part of today's workplace. Here are some valuable tips for new moms from our network of seasoned pumping pros. Also includes advice on what to wear, scheduling, storage and transportation, and more.
12 Tips to Help With Separation Anxiety
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Back To Work
Teary goodbyes—complete with clinging, screams & tantrums—are common, but as a parent, it can be very upsetting to see your little one so upset to see you go. Here are eight tips Park Slope Parents has picked up from members who have had to deal with this phase in their child’s development.
Missing Firsts
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics
PSP working moms talk about "missing firsts" - first steps, first words, first swing set rides... Here, parents share their tips for dealing with the fear of missing out!
Should I take a break from work?
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Freelancer Advice
PSP working mothers talk about taking a break from work. This article summarizes two exchanges on our PSP forums, one discussion (2014) with a parent working part-time and deciding whether she should stop, and another thread (2017) about one mother on maternity leave who is debating whether she should return to her job
Should I Tell My Boss I'm Pregnant?
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics
Pregnant and considering applying for that promotion at work? PSP working mothers debate the ethics of whether to disclose or not to disclose during the interviewing process.
Starting a new job after maternity leave
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics
New baby, new job? PSP members share what they learned about handling this.
Advice for Interviews Regarding Family Friendly Policies
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents, Work/Life Balance Tips
Members share their experiences in finding employers who are family-friendly...
Freelancing and Maternity Leave
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Know Your Rights, Freelancer Advice
Advice for freelancers about maternity leave.
How to Welcome a First-time Mom Back to Work
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents, Pay It Forward
Awesome ideas for how to welcome your colleague returning from parental leave...
Should I keep working when salary just covers childcare?
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents
When do the cents make sense: stay at home or work?
Changing Jobs
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics
Balancing work and babies is no easy feat. Feeling compromised inevitably comes up. These emotions might feel more apparent when it’s a job you don’t love, or you don’t feel challenged anymore. It’s tempting to consider switching jobs, but that decision has it’s own set of unique issues: does it make sense to stay in a job that lets you focus on your kids? Are you risking your career by letting your stalling professional growth?
Parents on the Working Moms group talk the pros and cons.
Dealing with After School Guilt
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Education Advice ( The Process), Childcare Advice, Childcare and Working Parents
Parents talk about putting their children in after school programs, and how to help a kiddo who might feel lonely or left out because of it.
Work affirmations: "So happy to be back at work!"
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents
One PSP parent shared an observation to their group that kickstarted an awesome dialogue. They wrote: “Overall, it feels like the majority of messages I've received from all directions say that when you go back to work, you'll hate your job and feel distracted and guilty all day that you aren't with your baby. That it'll be impossible to be in a different location than your sweet baby angel all day. After hearing this so often, I really started to fear that I would have a difficult time when I went back to work.”
Mat Leave Tips for Motivated Moms
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Working Mother Topics, Working Parents, Working Parents
Do you consider yourself Type A? Have you been angling for overtime and promotions since your teenage years? Is it hard to remember the last time you took PTO? If you’re a bit of a self-professed careerist, you may be concerned about jeopardizing your professional advancement while on maternity leave. Fortunately, fellow working moms are here to offer wisdom and solace. (Spoiler alert: Yes, it is possible to take full advantage of your mat leave while still advancing in your career!)
Know Your Rights Resources: Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Beyond
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Know Your Rights, Working Mother Topics
What are your rights at work, including FMLA, breastfeeding, pregnancy discrimination and beyond! Here are some resources.
What You Need To Know About The NYC Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Know Your Rights, Working Mother Topics
The NYC Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a recent piece of workplace discrimination legislation that now explicitly requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to workers who are pregnant, recovering from childbirth, nursing or have a pregnancy-relation condition.
Work, Pregnancy, and Complications
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Know Your Rights, Working Mother Topics, Working Parents
What to do when work is complicated, your pregnancy is complicated, and life just feels complicated. PSP members share their advice and experiences about navigating their employer, emotions, and the law.
Advice on How to Structure Parental Leave
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- Parent Category: Working Parents
- Category: Parental Leave, Working Mother Topics
Wondering how to structure parental leave with your partner? Here, PSP members from the PSP Working Moms group talk about how they structured family leave.
Frozen Breast Milk: Shipping and Traveling With it
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- Parent Category: New Parent Big Stuff
- Category: Breastfeeding & Pumping, Travel Advice, Working Mother Topics, Airplanes and Airports
PSP members share advice about frozen breast milk, from shipping it to packing and traveling with it.