No parent is perfect, don’t be so self critical.

You’re doing great!

My husband is a musician, so he is home most of the day and works at night, but even so, my boys prefer to come to me with problems and for hugs. The only thing I´m not allowed to deal with is broken cars . . . apparently that´s Papa´s job!

There are times I have to get up early, or go to bed hours after she has gone to sleep just so I can spend time with her when she is awake. Don’t even get me started on family members who think I should be able to spend every second of my day playing with her. I can’t. I have to make a living.

As much as I’ll miss all the bonding I’m definitely looking forward to this school year when she will be entering kindergarten. It can be tough juggling a career at home and keeping up with an active child. Thank goodness for Wifi most warm days are spent outdoors. I work she plays, and I take breaks to play with her.

I tend to beat myself up a lot over all the times my son has tried to talk to me and I haven’t been able to tear my eyes away from the computer screen. I talk to him about it, and thankfully, he’s old enough to understand that we need two people working for us to be able to have our own home, and all the other things he enjoys.

Again, thank you! Great perspective.

Now that my son is a teenager, it has become a lot easier for me to find balance as he is moving into his own life of independence away from ‘mom’. We still do things together, and I still work my schedule as much as I can around his so we have time together. My son works and has school, friends, and time with his dad/dad’s family, so that frees up more guilt-free time for me to work.

They grow up so fast that as long as you prioritize and remember to take care of yourself, too, it will all work out.

PS – seeing me work from home and running my own business inspires my son. He sees that despite the setbacks that always will crop up, it can be done. My son sees me doing what I love and happier than anyone else in the family. That helps encourage him to follow his dreams despite the naysayers – and I like that.

I never needed one thank God! But I have a friend who opted to go back to work full time and choose a daycare provider highly recommended by the schools and by the state licensing board. A month passed and she was happy enough. Then one day, she got a call at work that her son was in the ER. The daycare provider had errands and felt it was fine leaving the kids with a neighboring teen who was on the phone and not watching the kids when one picked up a baseball bat and hit the 2 year old in the face with it. Broken nose, cracked jaw bone and a ton of stitches later, the 2 year old was okay, but scarred for life mentally and physically.

Police were called in and the woman swore she’d never let it happen again and that all medical expenses would be covered. My friend started looking for a new daycare following that, but had no where else to leave her son in the meantime, so took the daycare owner at her word that something like that would never happen again. Two days later, the same call came in. This time the daycare owner claims she was picking the two year old up and was standing too close to the window sill and hit the kid’s head on the sill. It left another gash that required stitches and he had a concussion. Police didn’t by the story that time, so she was charged with negligence and the daycare shut down immediately.

This was a daycare that was highly recommended by the state and area schools, so for me the question became who do you trust? My kids are old enough now that they don’t need a sitter, but I’m glad I never had to choose one because obviously the so called experts don’t always know either.

Domestic duties have gone totally by the wayside, and the kids are practically feral. Television viewing is way up. Bathing is down. Maternal guilt is at an all-time high.

Over dinner one night last week (bowls of cereal), I said, “I know you’ve probably noticed that Mommy has been really busy lately.”

They looked at me like I’d grown a third eye. It turns out they hadn’t noticed…

You sound like a good mom to me.

They know that I love them and that I’m doing this crazy thing for them, even if they don’t see it all or understand it right now.

Even if daycare or a sitter isn’t your preferred option, have a sitter you can rely on for emergencies.

My wife was a stay-at-home mom when the kids were young — and I worked at home. But when my mother-in-law had open heart surgery, she went to the hospital and I had some deadlines I couldn’t miss (that’s why they’re called deadlines, though I run into some PR people I deal with — no one on this board — that don’t seem to understand that ); I hired a sitter for the day.

Had to do this one or two other times while my wife was out and I couldn’t give very young kids my undivided attention.

HOWEVER, what my three sons learned in the process, in addition to my love for them, was that women have minds and dreams and goals and lives too. That mom is a person with a world that extends beyond the walls of home.

And I can see in my oldest son who married last September and in my other sons’ relationships, that the ramifications of that are a respect and understanding of the separate lives of wives and girlfriends.

I think working from home as a parent, with all its challenges, is the best of both worlds, whether you are a mom or a dad. So pat yourself on the back for ALL that you give them.