Parenting Australia

I know the time for school holidays is drawing near – kids are starting to make plans for what they will be doing in their fortnight off, and parents are making plans to take up as much time as possible so there’s no whining of “I’m bored”.

I’m not one of those parents, though, because Noah and Ethan are still too little to be celebrating two weeks off school. At almost four Noah will soon understand what school holidays mean, but at one it’s still a long way off for Ethan.

Instead, like many parents, Harvey and I will be juggling our businesses around our young boys. It will be business as usual. Like many parents in this situation I work from home so I can spend as much time with my family as possible (in theory anyway).

Here are a few valuable lessons I have learnt as I navigated being a business owner and mum at the same time.


1. Young babies never sleep for as long as you’d like them to so you can finish that important project

2. Putting clients first means it is inevitable that you will need to work some nights or weekends because there are always days that don’t go to plan, especially when children are involved

3. Be careful about saying “yes” to every project that comes your way when starting out because not every client is right for you or your business

4. Factor in time to get out and speak to other business owners, both parents and non-parents, so you can share experiences – both professional and those that involve mashed vegetables

5. Never beg a child to go to sleep so you can work – they sense desperation and feed off it

6. If you have to work while your child/ren is/are with you, let them play where you can still see them from your office/desk/corner of the dining table or take advantage of hour-long DVDs.


I’m hoping by the time Noah actually has school holidays we’ll be organised enough to take some family holidays (along with everyone else). We haven’t had anything longer than a weekend away together since before Noah turned two (and before Ethan was born) so we think we’re overdue.

I hope everyone enjoys the last few days they have before the child/Easter chocolate onslaught and the school holidays are fun!

What do you have planned for the school holidays?

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