Tips for working moms (during the holiday and beyond)
By Tara Pringle

As a working mother, it may seem impossible to keep your two roles in balance. Once you finish your workday, it’s time to begin another one with your children. I’ve asked a few moms for some helpful tips of ways they manage their time with their family. Whether you are a new mom, or have teenagers in the house, you can always learn something!

• Pick a good day care center for your children (even if it costs more). “The extra money pays in the long run,” Amber Jones, mother of three said. “My kids get sick less, have positive attitudes and love learning and although my hubby and I would like to take all the credit for that, a quality day care also has a lot to do with our happy kiddos.”
• If you are married, or living with your partner, let your weaknesses be his strengths and vice versa. If you hate organizing the family calendar and he’s meticulous down to the last detail, by all means let him have control over that. If you stick to your strengths and let him shine in areas where you don’t, it will make for less stress and a happier union.
• Plan before you run errands. When it’s time to go grocery shopping, pick up dry cleaning or just run to the salon for a quick touch-up, make sure you have.
• Be friends with other moms. It pays to have someone who knows what it’s like to raise children in your corner. You can share your secrets and can learn some in the process. If you are close with them, you can “trade” children. She can watch your children one day, and next week you’ll watch hers.
• Check with local churches to see if they have marriage ministry sessions. Some churches offer ministry for couples with children. “We have meetings once a month on a Friday night,” Jones said. “The ministry provides dinner and free child care while [my husband] and I enjoy some cool ministry event: couple massages, dance lessons, comedy, etc.”
• Schedule “Me time.” Sounds easier said than done, right? Not if you make it a priority. Set aside one or two hours for you to do whatever you please, whether it’s just reading a book, watching a movie or taking a bubble bath. Make sure your children understand that it’s “Mommy time” and you are not to be disturbed. An even better idea is have your alone time at a time where everyone is out of the house. Have your husband or friends take the children out to a movie, and you’re guaranteed to have at least an hour to yourself.

Tara Pringle is a junior magazine journalism major at Kent State University in Ohio. She is interested in Pan-African studies and women’s issues. After graduation, she intends to start her own magazine dealing with issues pertaining to young women of color.