At home
Distribute household chores
The studies follow and are similar: in France, 80% of household chores are performed by women, or about 2 hours a day! Perhaps now is the time to put things back on the table: we divide up the errands, the housework… according to what each one prefers. And we involve children by giving them tasks adapted to their age and presented in a fun way. From 3 years old, a child can learn to put clean socks together, help put away his toys. At 5, he can start setting the table.
Make shopping easier
Go shopping online with a pre-recorded list of the items you order each week. Also succumb to baskets of fruits and vegetables, meats, fish … delivered to your home. The Qui Toque.fr basket is aimed at families and allows you to compose 5 meals – 2 adults + 3 children – (vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, etc.). And the recipes are achievable in 30 minutes. Ditto with Foodette.fr which delivers the ingredients to cook 3 or 4 dishes.
With Simple & bon.fr, you select the recipes you want to prepare and the shopping list is done by itself! It only remains to place the order. With Monmarche.fr, you have access to thousands of fresh products directly from Rungis and recipe ideas. Delivery throughout France.
Cook ahead on weekends
Frankly, it saves precious time. What to avoid a lot of stress. When the children are small, prepare the purees in large quantities, then freeze them in individual portions. You can also cook and freeze one or more dishes for the whole family (gratins, moussaka…). All you have to do is heat them up one evening.
Keep a family calendar
This is the solution to not skip anything! There are specific models with boxes to write down extracurricular activities, birthday snacks, etc. We like: The Large Fleurus Family Calendar, The Family Organizer, ed. The Memoniak, The calendar for the whole family, ed. First or The Organizer as a family, edited by Hugo Image. They are suitable for children with stickers for example to stick to help them find their way in time. With your spouse, you can also opt for a shared calendar via your computer or smartphone (Google Calendar, Outlook).
Have a professional babysitter network
Need emergency care for your child? Register with childcare agencies. You make a phone call and they’ll find someone available. In addition, people are certified and you can benefit from CAF aid and a 50% tax reduction. Some companies offer additional services such as bilingual nannies at Speaking-agency; edutainment workshops at home with O2; Yoopies geolocates nannies near you …
Adopt the maxim of “CQFAR”: translation: “He Who Makes A Reason”.
“Clearly, when you delegate, do not go back to redo your way,” explains Marlène Schiappa, president of the association Maman works *. If the dad has put away the groceries and put the rice instead of the cookies, that’s okay. Ditto if your big one has chosen a flashy t-shirt. It feels great to let go of the ballast.
Nursery, school, activities …
Set up the pedibus
The principle: several parents in the neighborhood take turns accompanying the children to school. You can also do the same thing at lunchtime or in the evening. Of course, you are not going to put this organization in place on the first day of school, wait a little while your child is comfortable. And on the morning you are in charge, allow time to avoid being late.
Distribute daycare outings with your spouse
So that everything does not depend on you, divide the evenings with the dad. For example, two evenings is you and two evenings is him. And for the fifth, why not hire a babysitter? It won’t blow your budget. And if you don’t pick up your child every night from school, it’s no big deal! To participate in his school life, accompany him on an outing during the year. And if you don’t see the teacher on a regular basis, make appointments for her to take stock.
Manage extracurricular activities
“Very often mothers complain about taking the taxi on Wednesdays and Saturdays to accompany everyone to painting workshops, dance lessons, music theory, football…”, confides Marlène Schiappa. Stop! Ask yourself and ask yourself if all of these activities are really essential. Is it really necessary to paint in a class? It can also be great fun to paint at home. There are lots of craft kits out there for the little ones. To reduce return trips, you can also register your children for different activities, but in the same place. For example, municipal conservatories bring together sports, artistic activities, etc. Another solution: only register your child for courses during the holidays.
>>> Do you know how to reconcile professional and personal life? Take our test!
Anticipate the unexpected
Each week or every two weeks, together with your partner, determine, according to your professional schedule, who will pick up the children urgently if they are sick, whether to take them to the doctor …
In the office
Think about telecommuting
Even if this is not the practice in your company, do not hesitate to ask your employer to switch to telecommuting. Sometimes an employee just needs to get the ball rolling for it to take hold. In any case, it’s worth a try!
Adjust your working hours
If your job allows it, you can ask your employer to smooth your RTT on every night of the week: you leave 30 minutes earlier; or you work late four nights a week and recover half a day; or you arrive early in the morning to leave earlier in the evening. Certain working time arrangements are possible in relation to labor law, you have to dare to ask.
Reserve lunch time
Instead of running during your lunch break, reserve this precious time for yourself: manicure, swimming pool… treat yourself. And if your partner works near your office, take the opportunity for a one-to-one lunch. Likewise, it may not be essential to check your mails in transport… take the opportunity to read… a book.
Be 100% focused on the job
To avoid being disturbed by unimportant phone calls from the nursery or school (you did not give the check for the class photo …), you can enter the dad’s number first on the cards , if it is OK. That way, in the event of a small problem, he manages the calls!
>>>> More info: Work-family balance, a major issue for companies
Long live mutual aid!
There are loads of practical and free apps (on the Apple store and Google Play) for parents to use. ZeroPlusZero supports you in finding an emergency solution with those around you (friends, family, neighbors, etc.): “I’m in traffic jams, who can pick up Zoe from the nursery? »And presto, the available person answers you immediately. Also smart, you can plan birthday parties and the guests have access to all the information (date, place, time). With the Hopways collaborative app, parents can share trips to accompany their children to school, to dance lessons … Momsintouch allows you to create a close network between mothers to discuss, take walks in their neighborhood, help each other .