Increasing The Bond With Your Child
Now that your baby has turned one, hopefully the late night wake-up calls are behind you. Your baby is now on a sleep schedule that is actually conducive to you getting sleep. You have returned back to work. What could be more perfect? Since things have settled into a routine, it is time to work on strengthening the bond with your baby. Sometimes when parents go back to work they feel the bond between them and the child is jeopardized by their work schedule. In addition, parents can feel guilty and have a hard time breaking away. There are solutions for the working parent.
Money or Time?
The biggest complaint new parents have is feeling guilty about returning to work, but needing the money. This complaint arises no matter how many children you've had before the new baby. First of all, tell yourself it is ok to work. You just need to make sure you take time out for you and your child to have quality time.
Balance time with work and time with your child. If you have the opportunity, take an extra day off here and there and plan quality time with your child. Plan a whole day dedicated to being with them.
Quality Time
Memories that your child will have from childhood will not necessarily be based on the number of hours you spent with your child, but rather what you did together. Think back to your childhood. Remember your special memories. Did your parents stay home all the time? My guess is no, they worked.
Quality time can be just spending the time together, hanging out. It can be making a tent out of chairs and blankets, hiding out and watching a movie. Maybe you'd rather spend the day feeding ducks at a local pond and having a picnic of your own together. The day doesn't have to be full of high dollar experiences. It just needs to be quality time, full of love and patience.
Routine
If you are still finding yourself heartbroken over spending so much time at work and your baby spending so much time at daycare, seek your personal solution. The first solution is to make and keep a routine. Routines are great ways to keep emotions under control. Children that are taught routine know what to expect. Parents are the same way. Routines build trust and help strengthen bonds. The child may not know time, but they know about the time of day you normally return. By returning home around the same time of day, you gain your child's trust and strengthen the bond.
Another solution can be to take extra time off. Maybe you need to start back gradually, say part time or so. If your boss will go for it, then try it out. Part time can be an answer to increasing income, giving you time in the adult-world and giving your child social time with other children.
When all else fails and you just can't take leaving your child for hours on end, try exploring a different job or career. Maybe you can find a suitable job working from home. Keep in mind though, that even if you work from home, your baby will be with you, and your attention won't be focused on them 100% of the time, due to the time devoted to working.
