One Secret to a Working Mom Success: Make Family Events More Enjoyable With Friends

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Better Together: Why Inviting Another Family Makes Activities More Fun #FamilyFun Sometimes family activities can feel like another item on the to-do list. However, doing those activities with another family makes them more fun! Whether it’s a trip to an amusement park , a visit to the local pool , or trip to a pumpkin patch , including another family can multiply the fun in amazing ways. One of my favorite moms to collaborate with is my friend, Ayana Ledford who's pictured above with her daughter Sahar. We have done all of the things listed as seemingly random examples above and here is how including her and her daughter (and sometimes her son too) has made the events more fun. On the date above, Ayana almost left the venue because parking was a nightmare. That said, she hung in there and we would up having a great time!
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Tuesday Truth: Moms Need More Help!

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Mom at the National Zoo
  • Seven-in-ten moms with kids younger than 18 were in the labor force in the United States in 2014. 
As I venture into the day to day grind of the official working world again, I am reminded of how busy my life is about to become. And I am not alone. The most common request that I receive from working moms through my coaching and personal life has a theme. They often jokingly wish for a "clone" to help them get everything done, more time in the day, or more "help". The sentiment was expressed most succinctly by Bernadine in "Waiting to Exhale", "I'd clone myself, but I wouldn't have time for the surgery." 


Husbands Help Your Wives, They Need it


I generally disagree to the concept of husbands giving wives, "help", because it presupposes that household duties and childrearing are the woman's primary responsibility and the man can simply assist.  (Click here to learn more about my thoughts on that topic.) The truth is, it's his house. They are his children. And he enjoys each of them as much as she does. Still, the facts don't lie, According to Pew Research Trust, "[i]n nearly half (46%) of households with a mother and father, both parents are employed full time, up from 31% in 1970. Working mothers (60%) are somewhat more likely than fathers (52%) to say balancing work and family is difficult." This suggests that women and men are having different experiences, which suggests to me that women are exerting more of the parenting effort, which is making it less fun.

Because gender roles seem to be deeply entrenched and will take a while to change, I have become practical. While I wait for the majority of families to adopt a co-manager model, I'll settle for more mom's getting adequate "help".  Based on the women I speak with and my own experiences, getting sufficient "help" would help to alleviate some of the stress. And besides, as terrible as it might sound something is better than nothing!

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