I am proud to be a working mom. I want my children to know they can have a successful career and a family.
For my kids to believe in the dream of having it all. This is not without its challenges. I am blessed to have a village and in my case my village is made up of family members. I know lots of other working moms whose villages are made up of their church group or community friends. No matter who makes up your village its vital to have one.
According to a Pew Research Center study, 45% of working parents with children under 6 years old rely on family members for childcare while they work
I am not saying you need a ten-person rotation of assistance or anything complicated; just one or two close reliable trusted people that can (and will) help in a pinch.
When I need to go into the office early for a special event or my husband has to work late; we are blessed to have my mother than can lend a hand. In the rare case that my mother isn’t available to assist we have our sisters who have all been tagged in for the odd occasion.
How we picked our village:
- Trust: Do you trust the person you are considering? I don’t mean do you trust them to remember to bring ice to an event; I mean do you trust them to protect the most important, most valuable item(s) in your life.
- Availability: Is this person going to be able to assist? Do they have the availability to pick up your child from school if you cannot? Not everyone has the flexibility in their life to be available on short notice.
- Environment: Now this person you trust has your child, are they taking to an environment that is safe, do you trust the other people around them. Just because the person passed the first two questions does not automatically mean they are a good fit.
Trial and error
We found giving a few family members a chance to be the best way to determine if they should be part of the village.
While none of these family members did anything wrong or inappropriate, there were some who trusted others on our behalf or pushed boundaries we were not comfortable with. Ultimately, this is why I recommend keeping it simple with only one or two support members in your village. You need them, but you also need your peace of mind.