Being a single mom can be both a rewarding and difficult experience. It definitely isn’t easy but this role is played by so many women around the world and they somehow get by. It is more difficult nowadays because of the pandemic, especially if you’re a mom who works in the medical field. So if you’re a nurse and a single mom, here are some tips to help you with juggling school, work and parenthood.
Work Around a Schedule
If your child is homeschooled or if you want to continue to homeschool your child, it’s actually easier to connect with them as their setup will always be at home. And although you aren’t home all the time, one of the ways on how you can show your love for your child is by creating a nice study corner for them. Spend at least 30 minutes or 1 hour a day with your child and look at their homework and re-learn what they’ve learned in school. Don’t forget to make it fun for them, too!
Avoid Being Assigned to Emergency Care
As a single mom, talk to your boss about assigning you to a department that doesn’t involve emergency care. Assuming you have difficult arrangements when it comes to child care, you definitely don’t want to be involved in an all-hands-on-deck situation that you can’t get out of. You need to ensure your shift ends the time that it’s supposed to end so you can attend to your child.
Share a Meal with Them
There have been many studies proving how family meals can have a positive effect on children. If you think about it, it doesn’t take much to share a meal with your child as you will be eating as well anyways.
Research shows that if you eat meals with your children regularly, they are less likely to develop eating disorders and will tend to eat healthier. This is also where you can talk to your children about your day or their day.
Look Into Different Nursing Careers with Less Risks
If you work at a hospital, it’s more likely that you get exposed to an infectious disease that may bar you from going home to your child. So as a single mom, look into different career options like being a company nurse or school nurse, a home care nurse, a research nurse and the like.
A perfect example would be working for a doctor’s office that is situated near your home. Patients are usually by appointment, so you know what to expect. Working hours rarely change and it’s less stressful and less work compared to hospital duties. This means that you will have enough energy left for your children.
As you can see, maintaining the role of being a single mom and a nurse takes a lot of work-life balance. Remember that it doesn’t take much to make a child happy. All they need is your time and undivided attention, plus a little bit of your creativity. Just remember to persevere when it comes to your nursing career, and soon enough you will be able to get used to juggling both motherhood and your career.