Effective Ways To Balance Work And Family Life

1. Planning your holiday. Aim to spend at least two or three days (in addition to family holidays) doing something special with your kids. 

2. Work together. Once in a while, take your kids to work. However boring it may seem to you, your workplace can appear fascinating to your children. Let them do a little task, however small, to give them a role they can be proud of. Explain what happens and what you are doing. If it's not appropriate to have children in your workplace, try to bring home some work that they might find of interest. 

3. Assess your kids. If you feel guilty that you are not spending enough time with your kids, ask yourself honestly whether you think it is doing them any harm. If they are happy with he care you have arranged, there's every likelihood that they are not suffering. Take a clear-eyed look at how they are coping. Are they eating and sleeping, playing and learning? If you've any doubts, think of ways of spending more time together, or free up what time you have to give them more of your attention. 

4. Help your kids first. Colleagues, family and friends, often have need of our time, and adults' needs can seem more pressing than children's. But remember that you maybe hard press for time, your children must have first call on you. 

5. Plan for rush hours. Try to have your home in a reasonable state for when you and your family return from work, school or nursery in the evening. If necessary, get up a little earlier in the morning so that you can prepare in advance for the evening onslaught. 

6. Minimize stress. Don't do more than is strictly necessary at times when everyone is clamouring for your attention. Sometimes you have to let your standards drop a little so that you can spread yourself more thinly. 

7. Allot some special time. Adult responsibilities erode time and energy, so each day set aside half an hour - more if you can - just to be available for your kids. Put work and chores to one side, switch the answerphone on, have a cuddle, a chat, read a story, play a game or just let them see that you are there if they want you.