There comes a time in the lives of many successful career people when they decide they want to start a family. The question then becomes: do I stay at home when my child is young, or do I continue to work? For many people this question is very challenging to answer.
For a lot of people the decision to take time off their career to raise a young child is an easy one. However, it can have a deleterious effect on a person’s career, especially if they plan on going back to work after a year or two at home with their child.
One thing many people aren’t ready for is the enormous change that comes with leaving a job and staying at home to raise a child. There’s still plenty of work to do, but the work is very different, and may have a lower perceived value. Many career people feel a sense of connection with their jobs and may get a certain amount of recognition for what they do in the workplace. This usually isn’t replicated at home, and after some weeks a stay at home parent can begin to feel somewhat isolated and groundless.
For many career people, much of their interaction with other people on a day to day basis is through their jobs, and when they leave work to stay at home they suddenly find themselves without the interaction with other adults. Many people don’t realize how much they actually miss having intelligent adult conversation until they are at home with an infant.
While the first few weeks or months with a new baby may be busy, after awhile many parents find themselves becoming bored. While they may enjoy spending time with their infant and watching their development, they lack intellectual stimulation. A person who’s used to using their brain at work will find the many routine tasks of parenthood rather dull after awhile, and who can really blame them?
After months or longer at home, many career people start to feel as if they are becoming further removed from their old lives and worry that they’re missing out on too much, or that their skills are slipping because they’re not keeping up with things the way they once did. One thing you can do is keep in contact with your old colleagues (especially if you plan on going back to the same job eventually). If you regularly went to seminars to learn new skills, or read journals to keep yourself informed, then try and do the same while you’re raising your child. While you may not be able to attend professional seminars, you can look into online courses, and you can continue to subscribe to any professional publications.
Even if you’re not sure whether or not you want to resume your career after raising your children, it never hurts to keep your options open. There could come a time in the future when you’ll need to work again, and it will be much easier to make the transition if your skills are up to date.
