WAHM's need nannies, too!

These days, many mothers are finding a balance of going back to work and staying at home by starting businesses from home, or working from a home office. Let's face it: this is easy to do while your child is still in a bouncy seat. But what happens when the work (and laundry) starts to pile up and the kid/s start to help you "file" your paperwork (that's why that peanut butter is smudged across your expense report)? The first thing that might happen is you'll vow to get your work done once your child goes to bed. Envision it: daddy gets home at 6p.m., dinner and baths ensue from 7-9p.m., you have enough time to say "hi" to your spouse before locking yourself away in the home office and working until 2a.m. Of course, as a mother, you'll need to be up again at dawn to take care of the kids and house, as the title of stay at home mom implies. So what happens when burnout occurs? Let's face it: at the end of the day, you need some "me-time". You need balance. You need to keep your job, your status as a good mother, wife or partner, and you need to stay healthy to maintain your sanity - and so that you can be available for everyone else.

Maybe you are paranoid about sending your child to daycare, especially during flu season. Perhaps you are fine with the idea of daycare, but find it near to impossible to find a daycare that will take your child one or two days a week (many daycares require a minimum number of days). Maybe you live in a remote area where the time spent shuttling to/from daycare would outweigh the benefits of having free work time. Or perhaps your child has special needs and daycare is simply not an option. Whatever your reasons for not wanting to choose a daycare option, a solution that many work-at-home mothers are recently employing is to hire part-time nannies, just to free up their schedules to work from home and get things done (and sometimes to ensure a peanut-butter-free expense report gets filed in time for the deadline). Don't let mommy guilt get you down. A part-time nanny is the perfect solution for women or men who need to work from home, and in doing so, need to focus while the kids remain engaged and entertained.

These are just a few of the benefits that a part-time nanny can offer a Work at home mom or WAHM:

Instead of plugging your child into the television, Wii, or computer while you get things done, some of the benefits of a part-time nanny include:

Entertaining children: TV be gone! Nannies can take the children outside to play, go to play dates, the park, the library, etc. Nannies can play creative and/or educational games with the children and ensure that the children get naps, lunch, and the reinforcement of your discipline - all while you work from home uninterrupted.

Household chores: Upon hiring your nanny, you can ensure that part of the job description in a nanny's duties is standard housekeeping. This can include laundry, picking up after the kids, and standard housekeeping/tidiness.

Errands: Many work at home mothers utilize the part-time nanny's time spent with the kids to free up their own time to get errands done without the kids in tow. This way, many things can get done more quickly. It's a win/win situation: the kids can enjoy activities that are more engaging for them (other than picking up dry-cleaning with mom) and mom can have some me-time to get things done.

Extended services of the part-time nanny: Every once in a while, even the work at home mom needs an extra day to get things done. Yet another benefit of the part-time nanny is that she already has a relationship with your children, she already knows your routine. If you need her and she happens to be available, asking her to work an extra day of the week is usually much easier than finding a baby sitter whom the children may not know or behave as well for.

Ready to hire a nanny or babysitter? Hire a nanny now!