Now that your life has changed with the wonderful addition of a child, how might this affect your options in returning to work and earning an income, and most importantly, how will this possibly affect your child and family life?
This is the big question that many mothers face whilst on maternity leave.
There is an understandably strong pull between spending precious time with your child, and the household need for further income. Many women enjoy working outside of the family home, making use of their hard-earned qualifications and/or experience in their chosen career, plus the companionship and friendship one has with colleagues they have missed during maternity leave.
Sending your baby to an ECD centre is a popular option for many new moms, as they need to go back to work.
An ECD centre should be a welcoming haven, where children feel at home, safe and welcome. Knowing their child, however young, is safe, loved and well cared for, helps a mother resettle into their job role again after maternity leave.
Hours at the ECD centre might be half-day or full-day, part-time or full-time. This differs from centre to centre, depending on their business hours, which is in turn, dependent on the majority needs of their parent body. Some ECD centres are open all day, all week, and all year, with only a short Christmas holiday break. Other ECD centres are open term time only, with shorter daily hours. This flexibility of choice within the sector is welcomed as parents have differing childcare needs.
If you worked full time before your maternity, and wish to work fewer hours, have a friendly chat with your manager/senior line worker about the possibility of reducing your work hours, to fit in with your new parental status. This could be long-term or short-term. It is a conversation worth having soon whilst on maternity, so that you (and in turn, your employer), can make alternate arrangements if need be.
Quality staff are to be treasured, and employers are generally happy to try and accommodate your needs if they can within their business model, and whether they then need to recruit someone else to fill in the hours you are no longer working. The employee/employer relationship is an important one, and this kind of request needs to be handled timeously and with openness.
As a new mom working at an ECD centre, it is worth knowing whether your centre allows staff children to attend or not. There is often a decent staff discount on childcare fees, plus it is convenient having your child at the same workplace as you.
Many ECD centres allow moms to bring their children to the same centre, however, it is not encouraged that moms work in the same classroom as their child, as the child might be confused or unhappy about sharing their mother's attention with other children. The mom in turn might have difficulty in balancing the parent and teacher hats she is wearing.
So, for moms heading back to work after maternity leave, this becomes an attractive option - whilst your child is gaining invaluable life skills and is thriving emotionally and socially (the most important areas of development at this young age) within the ECD centre environment, you are happily able to enter the workforce again after maternity leave.
ENDS.
