Cereal Mom
(c) Copyright 2002, Sharon Davis
I recently heard a woman say that being called a "work at home mom" was professionally
demeaning. Being one myself, my initial reaction was to agree with her. "That's right,
I'm a professional, I'm not just a bored housewife dabbling with a hobby here," I said to
myself.
Upon reflection however, I came to realize that I disagree. Deeply.
Working out of your home while caring for children makes for some unique (and comical)
situations. If you can't have a sense of humor about these things, then maybe a field job
is more your style.
But let's face it, just how professional can you be when much of your work is done with a
toddler on your lap? And that is, after all, one of the great benefits of working at home;
you can consult with clients wearing bunny slippers if you like. Who's to know?
Sometimes we just need to keep things in perspective. I know that the work that I do is
top quality, and I don't sweat what others think of my work environment.
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But I do wonder how that woman deals with some of those little challenges that come
with being a work-at-home parent.
For example, maybe she feels that going out of the house with soggy Cheerios stuck to her
behind would be professionally demeaning. She must have found a way to avoid this. I
should call her...
Not being able to locate a pen because they're all in use fishing Barbie clothes out of the
toilet. This might be seen as unprofessional.
Or, while trying to convince a potential client how you would be the best choice if he's
looking for quality, professional results your 2-year-old is proclaiming proudly, "I went
poo-poo Mommy!" over and over.
I've known others who have tried to mask their true work environments using some creative metaphors.
For example:
"As soon as my colleague completes his current assignment"
really means..."As soon as my 5-year-old is done with his Mr. Potato Head CDRom"
"We'll be outsourcing the finishing work" really means..."My teenaged daughter will be earning her allowance by collating and stapling your reports"
"I have an urgent matter to attend to" really means..."My 3-year-old has been awfully quiet for the past few minutes and she was recently asking for a haircut"
Does this mean I should lock my kids in their rooms while I'm on the phone? While that
can at times seem like a perfectly sensible idea, usually basic time management helps to
avoid these situations. My view is that if a client thinks that the quality of my work will be
less just because I have children, he can look elsewhere.
Maybe I'm shutting the door on some business, but I refuse to have my children feel that
they come second. And I do, in fact, think of myself as a Mom first, and a business owner
second. Besides, I think that the day is getting nearer that people really won't mind their
projects delivered with a few soggy Cheerios on them.
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Sharon Davis is the Cereal Mom to two girls, the owner of 2Work-At-Home.Com and the Editor of the site's monthly ezine, America's Home. In her spare time she reminisces about what it was like to have spare time.
To subscribe to her free ezine, Click Here
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