We share some tried and tested tips and advice from 9 mums that all juggle kids and their business over the long Summer holidays:
1. Mum of one, Laura who runs Material Mouse from home and makes bespoke handmade clothing for children says that;
“Grandparents are amazing. Use them as much as you can. I have booked dates with my parents to take my son out for the day to allow them to have valuable time together and allow me a day to get bits done on my own.”
2. Content specialist Anuszka who runs Mad Apple Media says;
“As a single parent, what works for me and my three boys is a good old fashioned hand written calendar so they can see when I’m working and what days I’m not so we get to have time together.”
3. Clare Wetz who puts together the Family Grapevine magazine for West Kent along with her husband has some great advice;
“We’ve booked a few odd days spread over the holidays at holiday club. It works really well for our son to do something fun with other kids and gives us a few clear days to get some work done and then we can drop all tools on other days to do fun holiday things!”
4. Busy Mum of two, Carol who runs Les Femmes de Ménage cleaning service across Kent and Sussex says;
“Give yourself dedicated hours to work. Don’t take every call. Don’t answer every email immediately. Show your children that they are getting your full attention. Let them take their screen time at the same time as you. Use the mornings before they are ready and the evenings when they go to bed. It’s hard work but I wouldn’t change having the opportunity to be with them over the holidays.”
5. Virtual assistant, Amy Johnson who has a teenage son has some helpful advice if your kids are always hungry;
“the biggest interruption he gives me at any point day or night is because he’s hungry. So I still do pack ups. On a Sunday I make up a weeks worth of ham/chicken/cheese salad wraps or pasta salads, I make up fruit bags (a few bits of fruit in a sandwich bag) for each day, cheese strings, nibbles, yogurt drinks etc. This means that he can help himself easily and I don’t end up spending a fortune.”
6. Social Media Consultant Susie, runs Socialwize and has a great idea to keep your kids entertained for hours;
“Invest in some garden toys like swing ball, badminton, paddling pool, swing – this can buy you a couple of hours a day to work and they aren’t indoors on devices which are normally more expensive purchases.”
7. Hannah and Nicki who are both mums of two and run Creative Hive share lots of great ideas for getting creative with your kids and they have shared a few with us that you can try over the holidays
“(1) Photograph Lego characters in different places (see Lego man series by Andrew Whyte). (2) Create some land art …get out and about in the natural world- head to the beach or in the woods and get creating (see the marvellous work of Andy Goldsworthy). (3) Shadow Art- find and capture beautiful shadows around you or make your own, using found objects (see Shadow Art and Shadow Puppets).
8. Author Jessie Wilson, who specialises in marketing to mums proves that you can be productive in the holidays even when the kids are around;
“I recently had a prospective London-based client ask to meet me (in-person) for the first time, and I knew her 11-year-old son had just come back from boarding school, so I suggested we meet up at Bedgebury with our kids. My daughter is 8 and can be a bit clingy at times, so I borrowed another friend’s two children – one 8, the other 11 – and brought them along as well. It worked better than I ever could have imagined. The kids played beautifully together, leaving us mums free to chat business. The day ended with the woman I was meeting saying she definitely wanted to work with me.”
9. Mum to 4 boys Nerissa who runs Crimson Tiger and specialises in personalised gifts and homeware shares a way to get some free childcare;
“Buddy up with another mum or Dad in a similar situation and share. Ones does mornings, the other does afternoons, or share out the days. I also get up earlier and do a few hours before the demands start. It’s getting easier now they are older and more independent so remember, it’s only for a period of life and it does get easier!”
The holidays can certainly be a juggle, let us know in the comments if you have any great tips for making it just that little bit easier!
Great blog with lots of useful tips.
I always did swaps with other Mums too. I was initially afraid of asking as it’s a big ask to have 4 but my children have made lasting friendships with those adults who looked after them .
I also used the downtime in the holidays to start teaching independent living skills, especially cooking and food prep when they were old enough which meant that when I returned to full time work from part time , they could feed themselves which was one less thing to worry about.
Some great tips there! It’s always a juggle but as mums we can do it! Also good to remember that we only have 18 summer holidays with our kids so make sure we enjoy some of it too!!