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The first week was successful! This past week my family and I tackled Mommy going back to work!  We did a lot of preparation and although it is a bit of an adjustment, the kids are doing great with it (knock on wood!).  I thought I would share some of the things we did to prepare for the change.  So that others who are going back to work might get some ideas from my experience.

We found our sitter through sittercity and we sure lucked out!!  She is fabulous!  I highly recommend sittercity for those looking for a sitter.  The quality of the applicants we got was amazing!  We had our sitter come the week before I went to work and run through our routine with the kids.  She came a few days and got used to the kids and how things work in our house and the kids had time to get used to our sitter.  This was really helpful.

We also had lots of discussions with our kids about mommy going back to work and how things were going to happen.  We talked about how they felt about it and answered there questions.  They were very concerned that I would be far away, and when they realized I wouldn’t be that far away they were relieved.

I did as much preparation the night before as possible, lunches made, clothes out.  This way the morning wasn’t rushed and hectic.  I made a special note for each child in their lunch box and for when they woke up.  We read the kissing hand book and I left them each a heart “kissing hand” on their hand.

My son wanted me to wake him before I went, so I did and this seemed to make him feel better knowing he got to say goodbye.

All of these things I believe helped our transition begin smoothly.  I hope next week continues to go well!

Have you gone back to work?  What are some things you have used to help your kids and family prepare?

The countdown begins! One week until I am back working part time!  I am very excited at going back to be a Counselor!  I am hoping all the planning will make the transition go smoothly!  We found a great sitter through sittercity so I am thrilled!  Now it is preparation time for the kids.  We are doing a lot of talking about me going back to work and what the routine will be.  I think it helps kids to have an idea of what to expect and a predictable routine.

We are still also tackling school anxiety and I have a feeling this might be an ongoing tackle at my house.  Working on reassuring kids that they are safe and that they can do it is important.  I am trying to do this as well as going through a predictable routine each day.  For others who are have children with school anxiety here are a few tips that are helpful…

• Teach your child to “self talk”, when they start to feel worried.  Explain to them that when they start to feel nervous they can say to themselves in their head “I am ok, I am safe, I can do it”  This can help them have the confidence to make it through a tough time.
• Come up with a safe place they can go for a few minutes to regroup and feel like they can tackle things again.
• Have a signal for your child to give to the teacher when they need help.
• Meet with the teacher and find out what they see at school, try to figure out if there is something specific triggering their anxiety.  It could be they are afraid of someone at school, or of an unfamiliar routine etc.
• Go through the routine of the day with your child at night, and in the morning.  Let them know when and how they will get to and from school and that you know they can do it.
• If the child is having anxiety about school, do whatever you can to get them to stay there.  If they are removed from the situation the anxiety will only be greater the next time they go back.

I hope that these tips will help other parents struggling with their child’s anxiety.

It’s Official I am going back to work!  My biggest anxiety about starting back as a Counselor in Middle School and High School was Child Care Options!  As a Counselor I have to be in by about 7 AM.  I really did not want to have to get the kids out of the house by 6 AM on the days I work, so I knew I needed to find a good Babysitter who was reliable.

I  heard through a friend that she found 2 great sitters through the Child Care Connection at Sitter City (If you Need a babysitter, The best local sitters are at Sittercity.com. Save 15% on registration with promo code SAVE15 ).  So I decided to give it a try.  I put an advertisement on Sitter City using their Free Trial option.  I figured if I got some good responses then I would pay to join.  I have to say I was completely amazed at the response I got!  I have looked for sitters before using newspaper ads and this was SO much better!  I got roughly 25 excellent applicants in a matter of 3 days!

One of the things I really like about the way SitterCity Works is that you can actually look at potential sitters profiles before you contact them.  It also gives you one place to go to contact them and check out new applicants.  I definitely could get a feel on who I wanted to contact first by reading their profile and message to me.

I am so relieved that I have now found a few great sitters!  One who will work regularly with the kids and a couple for the occasional night out!  I have never had so many great options before!!  I thought the Child Care Connection service  at Sitter City was so great that I wanted to share it with all of you.  It was definitely worth the money it cost to sign up, in my opinion!!