Mum hacks for the corporate mother

Today, parenting is proving to be even more challenging than ever. This is especially so for the working mother, who is weighed down by the pressure to do everything right.

See, she has a job at which she has to succeed in order to contribute to her family’s wellbeing; she also has to find a semblance of balance between care for the home, marital obligations and her social life—if any.

At this point, she has to be intentional so as to safeguard her emotional and mental health. And that is when the mum hacks come into play to ease the otherwise insurmountable task of work-life balance!

Mum hacks are basically easier ways or tips to do the mundane chores and duties that mums generally do. Mothers shared their mum hacks to help others who may need them too.

Theresa, a mother of five, says her best mum hack is involving children in day-to-day chores.

“I have gotten my kids to partake in the household chores. For instance, one of the boys is responsible for the kitchen, one for their bedroom and the other for the sitting room,” she says, adding that she also does not want her boys to become sexist—thinking chores are a preserve for women and girls.

Her little girl also has her share of work. “She is responsible for tidying our shoes,” she says.

Theresa opines that she had to get them involved to avoid burning out.

If you are a mother, who wants to consider engaging children in house chores, Theresa cautions you not to expect perfection.

“They don’t do the jobs perfectly, but the way I see it, they are getting life skills. I have also learnt not to be a perfectionist…some people may want their houses to be perfectly tidy, with not an item out of place. It was always stressful for me keeping the place spick and span all day long. Now, we just relax and tidy up at the end,” says Theresa.

Annette, who is a mother of four, says her children are still too young to do chores and has instead decided to do chores with her husband.

“I do everything myself when my husband is at work. He will do the dishes in the morning before he goes to work. And when the baby wants to sleep, he will help me carry him while I make breakfast. But when he is home, we do house chores together. I guess the mum hack I'm sharing is teamwork,” she says.

Dr Sabrina Kitaka

Planning and the school run 

Wherever the time flies in morning, no one knows because the school run can be a menace if not managed efficiently.

Theresa says that for the school run, they make sure to arrange all the uniform items for the upcoming week over the weekend.

Patience, a mother of two, notes that sometimes, to be ahead of the pack, a mother can spend more money to achieve efficiency.

She explains that she had to buy more uniforms for the children to wear throughout the week so that they can wash them all at once over the weekend. This, she says, saved her from the hassle of washing uniforms in the middle of the week.

In addition to ensuring that the uniforms are ready for the week, she also shared planning the meals in advance. She maintained that the weekend sets the pace for the following school week, advising mums to make the most of it.

“I cook over the weekend and store the different sauces in the fridge, which we will have during the week,” she says. She reasons that having ready sauces leads to less time spent slaving in the kitchen during the week.

“When you have the sauces ready, you just cook the food and some vegetables. My children had to learn that posho is food because I would quickly prepare it for them and some vegetables,” she says.

Team work

Alternatively, Dr. Sabrina Kitaka says her big hack concerns staying connected through prayer, social networks and doing fun stuff, like dancing, eating out, travelling together and cooking.

“We also share at least one big meal together every day and have a chance to have a deep conversation,” she says.

She explains that by “staying connected with my children, they then become more resilient and responsible to do what they are expected to do”. Kitaka says it was a case of “monkey see, monkey do” and believes that children learn better by observing and working alongside a parent using a collaborative approach.

Perks of mum hacks

One of the perks associated with mum hacks is the time it buys a mother to unwind or sleep for longer.

Owing to mum hacks, Theresa can even get a longer lie-in bed over the weekend. “My boys make their own breakfast, which buys me a couple more minutes in bed over the weekend,” she says.

To Patience, mum hacks give her more time to engage her children meaningfully.

Previously, she used to do lots of chores and would hardly hold a meaningful conversation with her children, as she was always preoccupied with chores. They would stomp off, feeling bad that their mother was not paying attention to them.

However, with mum hacks, after the children carry out their tasks, Patience has engaging conversations with them, giving them the much-needed attention they seek.

Facts to note

• Children won’t do chores perfectly, but they improve as they go along

•  Let them take care of simple tasks to relieve you of them

•  Ask or encourage your spouse to actively engage in chores

•  Children can cook simple meals, like breakfast, to buy you more time to do other stuff

•  Work together with your children