Hire a Mother’s Helper

Posted on by rosedandrea Posted in sanity savers, Self CareTagged , ,

A Mother’s Helper is a babysitter for when you are there.

I know this is a strange concept, but hear me out. You can hire a babysitter, and stay home. Even in the same room.

When I was younger (like 9) I would walk a couple blocks to distract a homeschooling mom’s toddlers while she did lessons with her two older children.

You can hire a babysitter for when you take your kids out in the world, too. It’s amazing how much easier grocery shopping is when someone else is bouncing your gassy newborn and chatting with your cart bound preschooler.

Reasons to hire a Mother’s Helper:

  • To help wrangle kids while you are all grocery shopping
  • To keep them from running around while you are clothes shopping
  • To sit with them in the waiting room while you are having a doctor’s appointment
  • If you need someone to wear them out playing tag or soccer, or take a long walk
  • If you have an emotional anniversary coming up and you’re going to be a wreck
  • An extra set of hands at the park
  • While you are cleaning the house
  • If you homeschool and need some distraction free time while helping one of your children learn a subject
  • So you can concentrate while working on the computer
  • You sprained an ankle and need some time to just sit and elevate it
  • If you need time in the tub and a nap…by yourself for once
Toes in a bubble bath
Maybe even a pedicure.

 

Mother’s Helpers are sanity savers when you either don’t have the brain space or enough hands to take care of the kids. They are perfect for when you just want to give yourself a break for an afternoon.

Payment could be cash or a gift card a student could use (you never go to a particular store, restaurant or coffee shop, but got a $20 gift card for Christmas? A win-win for both of you!). In some cases it needn’t be money. If you have a skill they want to learn you could reach an arrangement like an hour of them helping out for an hour of French tutoring or piano lessons or you teaching them how to knit. Or perhaps they want to learn how to cook and you want to write a book so they could watch the kids for an hour while you hide in your office and write, then when it’s time to start dinner it’s time for the cooking lesson as well. Just be sure you are both clear on what is expected from both parties so there are no misunderstandings, hurt feelings, or failed French classes.

Whether it’s cash or barter, you get some help with the kids while getting errands done, or just drinking coffee and reading a good book while sprawled on your gloriously empty, not being bounced on, bed.

Mama, You Have Earned That Tired

3 thoughts on “Hire a Mother’s Helper”

  1. Reply
    Lucinda Sutherland says:

    I used to do this. I would go pick up my La Leche League leader’s daughter before going to get groceries. My baby would often fall asleep in the car and the teen would stay in the car while the baby slept and I got the shopping done. We could hit a drive-thru for milk-shakes later and that was often all the payment the teen wanted. It is a great way to give a teen some time feeling more mature, help them build relationships with other adults besides their parents, learn new skills, and be useful in their community. We all need to do that, so it’s a great way to help others grow while we are growing and learning, too.

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