Can you really work from home when you have young children?

Working from home, in whatever career, business or job you choose, requires time, and generally at least some child free time. The most child friendly work from home business I can think of is family day care, where you look after other children in your own home. But even this requires time for paper work, doing the finances, planning activities, making meals, preparing and cleaning up the area you use with the children and attending meetings and training. Family Day Carers are regulated like any other children's service and must provide a professional level of care.

With a lot of other jobs, such as tutoring or running a party plan business, there are specific times, when you cannot do the job with young children there.

I came to the conclusion that within the first two years of your child's life, it is very difficult to set up any work from home opportunity without having some sort of outside care for your child, and as one of the major reasons for working from home, is to be there for the children, if they end up in day care anyway, isn't it defeating the point?

However, as the children get older, they benefit from external care. We used Occasional Care when our children were 2, for just one day a week to start with. Not much you might think, but it allowed me a few precious hours to concentrate on something other than children. I may not be making a fortune, but I could start to work towards it, and I had a mental break which refreshed me for the rest of the week. At 3 or 3 1/2 pre-school is available, and my personal feeling is that my children benefit hugely from attending pre-school, where they are exposed to a wide range of different activities we don't do at home, and they get the chance to socialise with other children and adults. My decision was that I could then work during those hours, but still be there each day to pick up my children and spend time with them. As we get to the school years, I still want to be able to do the same thing, but will have 5 part time days a week I can work in.

One other option is to share care with your partner. For example, I have a Saturday morning job teaching a pre-schoolers' sports class. I can do this, because the other half does not work on a Saturday, and will happily take care of the children. A friend who works for Tupperware, plans her parties of an evening, again so hubby can be with the kids. The only danger is maintaining the balance and not loosing too much precious time with your family.

I think the basic message is that you cannot expect to work around your children when they are very young, as you'll probably resort to television to claw back a few hours, and then you'll feel guilty, and won't enjoy that time. If you're lucky you have family who will support you, but if not, you need to work out how much time you need and want on your own, and when you feel your children will be ok with external care.

Work from home in Family Day Care

Family Day Care Mums provide care in their own homes for up to 5 children, including their own, up to the age of 12, but generally under school age. Family Day Care schemes are run through local councils or independent organisations such as a church, but with all schemes there is a central office that provides support, training, resources and regulation of the business.

To become a Family Day Carer, you will need a current first aid certificate and a working with children police check which the scheme will arrange on your behalf. You do not need any formal qualifications in child care, although a child care certificate or diploma would be useful, and may allow you to charge more for your care than an unqualified carer. (Rates you can charge vary from scheme to scheme)

Ideally you would have experience with children (not hard if you're a mum!) and you must enjoy looking after young children. Your scheme will provide training which will cover things like safety, hygeine, policies and procedures, and how to program your week to cover each child's needs. Family Day Care Schemes often run a playgroup you can attend with the children, which is a good place to meet other Family Day Care mums.

As with all child care, Family Day Care is regulated through the government to ensure quality care is provided. Your home will be checked to ensure it meets rigorous safety standards, and you will need to have current public liability insurance to cover your business.

How much money can you earn in Family Day Care?

The hours you work and the number of children you care for are, to a large extent, up to you. Carers in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney area charge between $60 and $80 a day per child.

See www.familydaycareaustralia.com.au for more information