Are you trying to find the right balance between work, school, and being a parent?
There are over 3.8 million active student parents today facing a 70% to 30% divide in that respective order. These students often have to manage themselves and their children while staying active in school at the same time. Most of them find that they have to pick up a part-time job to ensure they have enough money to support themselves.
However, this means they now have to juggle more alongside school and working. This overwhelms most of them, and they often crack under pressure. Coming up with a solid plan is essential to avoid ending up in the same situation.
We’re here to help do that. Read on to learn how to find the right balance between your young one, your work, and your education.
1. Choose the Right Educational Program for You
The first thing you should make sure of is getting the right program from your school. Many universities offer different programs that meet the needs of student parents. These often have flexible schedules for you to choose from.
Make sure you get the right program that matches your professional goals. Each course will have different scheduling methods. Choosing what you should go for will be what determines the schedule you will have to work with.
These graduate programs often scholarship programs, too. This is important because enrolling as a student parent means you won’t have much money going around. These programs also offer different methods of payment to suit your financial situations.
Graduate programs are also great because they understand the situations you may find yourself in. They’re lenient when you need to leave because of emergencies and other similar situations.
2. Make a Schedule and Stick to It
The secret to striking the right balance in being a parent while attending school and working is sticking to a strict schedule. Some say it is impossible to have quality time with the family while you’re out working and attending classes. It is tricky to pull off, but it’s possible all the same.
Finding enough time to fulfill each item on the list will be tricky because of work. You can make this possible though in 2 ways. The first way is going for a part-time job instead of a full-time one.
This will mean you won’t make as much money but it gives you a lot of room to schedule for class and parenting. The second option is to ask for flextime from your employer. Flextime is a specific timeframe for you to work in.
Explaining your situation may convince your employer. What’s great about this is that it often means you only have to work on your free days when you don’t have any classes. You should clear it up with your employer first to ensure you don’t miss any workdays.
If your partner sticks with you through this, you make a schedule that complements each other. You can make a schedule that covers for the child when your partner has work or class. Your partner can do the same to ensure that the child won’t be alone.
3. Don’t Forget the Importance of Self-Care
Self-care becomes even more important as a parent. This is because your child will also rely on you to take care of him or her until they’re able to do it themselves. Making sure you’re always in top physical and mental condition helps you do this.
The first thing you should do is to make sure you have enough sleep every night. Sleep helps your body recover from the effort you’ve exerted in the day. Not getting the right amount of sleep deprives your body of rest.
This will cause a lot of things, with the main problem being out of focus. This means you won’t be able to learn as much as you want from your class. This also means you won’t be able to give your child all the attention it needs.
You should also leave yourself some personal time while making your schedule. Giving yourself some time to do what you want to relax will be important for your morale in the long run. Doing this will ensure you relieve some stress every on the regular.
4. Make Contingency Plans for Any Situation
As a parent, you shouldn’t expect everything to work out. There will be curveballs hitting at you now and again. You should prepare yourself for anything if you want to make sure you don’t crack under pressure.
One such example is to prepare for the event that your child gets sick. Children have a weaker immune system because it is still developing itself. This leaves them more susceptible to sickness and infections.
Preparing for this allows you to face the emergency as it comes. Doing this keeps you grounded and your expectations realistic. This will help you avoid getting surprised when the slightest inconvenience comes to upset your day.
5. Make Use of Every Available Resource
Resource management is an important skill to have when you’re a working student parent. This becomes even more important considering that you have little funds to go around. This is a good reason for you to take advantage of every available bargain.
Getting renewable or long-lasting resources is a good example of this. Lithium batteries are a great investment because they last more than twice as long as regular batteries. They’re important to ensure most of your electronics last longer.
This will help you keep your child occupied longer while you work or study.
You should know there’s no shame in asking for help from others. This human resource can help you by taking the child off your hands for a while. Friends and family will often be ready to help you when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Balance Out Attending School and Working While Being the Perfect Parent Today
The perfect balance between school and working is hard to achieve. Throw in being a parent in the mix, and it will be near impossible to do so. With the help of our guide, though, balancing out the 3 will be easier than you think!
Make time for your family, school, and work today!
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