The typical day of a busy parent

The typical day of a busy parent

Being a parent is hard. My husband gets to go to out of the house to work and I am so jealous sometimes. His workday has a beginning and an end. Me? I’m a stay-at-home mum who also works from home, my day has a beginning and ends when I pass out from exhaustion. But what does a typical busy parent do all day? Wonder no more! Here is a list of 25 things that parents do on a typical school day.

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1) Get yourself showered, washed and dressed

I prefer doing this before everyone else is out of bed. There is nothing like getting a shower and a cup of coffee in peace while the house is nice and quiet. I have a great beauty routine if you need one that can be done within an hour that will leave you looking like a respectable human being.

2) Wake the kids

Not only do you have have to get them up, you have to make and serve breakfast and get the kids their morning drink. And don’t forget about those multivitamins and any medications that they need to take too.

3) Make the lunches

Has anyone else found that since Pinterest launched that lunchboxes have become a point of competition between mums? This also includes your lunch and your partners lunch. Or make little bags of money for everyone’s lunch so that they can get something in the canteen or dinner hall.

4) Give the house a quick tidy

This is just a quick run about the house to make the beds and open all of the curtains first thing. Why do we feel the need to straighten the house before head out for the day? It’s not like anyone will be looking at it while we are out.

5) Get the kids washed and dressed

Even if they can do it themselves, you still have to supervise. This means we have to make sure that the kids brush their teeth and do the kids hair so we don’t get disapproving looks from other parents and wonder if they will report us to Social Services if you can’t get the double crown to sit flat.

6) Make sure the kids have everything before leaving the house

School bag? Check. Coat? Check. Empty bladder? Check. Permission slips? Check.

7) Make sure that everyone leaves the house on time

Doing the morning school run is one of the hardest things to do, right? Even leaving the house a couple of minutes late can throw you off, and it is those mornings that you get stuck in traffic and 2 minutes late leaving the house turns into 45 minutes late because of some weird time law.

8) Go to work

Or in my case, come home and start the work day in my home office. Pajamas are optional when you work from home. So are naps. However, I know many people would love to work from home like this, and there are plenty of jobs that you can do from the comfort of your living room in-between the school runs.

9) Tidy the house from top to bottom

This should count as 50 tasks in one if you think about it. There are vacuuming and ironing to be done as well as the mountain of little things that seem to appear from nowhere.

10) Do the afternoon school run

The big question is, is this the day that they have after-school clubs or not? Are they actually out at the same time? Or will you have to leave the house a few times to pick up different kids from different schools and different clubs? Thank the heavens for scheduled alarms on our phones so we don’t get confused by it all.

11) Do the kid’s homework with them

You have to listen to them read and learn their spellings. And then you have to sit and sign everything and fill out all of the homework related paperwork. Seriously, who is this homework for, them or us?

12) Put a load of washing on

More than likely, this will include the kid’s uniform and some work uniform for you and your partner. Or if you are unlucky like me, you will need to put at least two loads on before bed otherwise the pile doubles in size overnight.

13) Dinner time

If you are disorganized like me, you will have to decide what to make for dinner. Then you have to cook and serve the evening meal. Or, you could be a smart person and work out a meal plan for the week to save any hassle of choosing at the last minute. Or order a takeaway, no judgment from me.

14) Get the kids to eat their dinner

Normally with the words “yes, you have had this before”, and “and what is wrong with this?” Even though it’s a meal they have sat down to a million times before and you thought they still liked.

15) Take the kids to their various clubs and sports

The more kids you have, the more clubs you will have to be a part of.

16) Get the kids ready for bed

Before bed, you will probably want to get the kids bathed or washed and then get the kids into bed. Once they are clean and changed, you will probably read a bedtime story too before shipping them off to the Land of Nod.

17) Layout uniforms for the next morning

Remember that wash you put on earlier which probably had uniforms in it? Yeah, you will probably have to hang some school jumpers on the radiators and hope that they dry for the morning.

18) Empty the dishwasher

Why does the dishwasher seem to fill up so quickly? And why is it such a nightmare to unload? And why is it when you ask a teenager to empty it, they man-handle the cups and glasses so much that you feel like they are doing it on purpose so they never have to do it again? Just me?

19) Get the lunchboxes and water bottles prepped for the next morning

You probably don’t do the lunches before bed or the night before (soggy sandwiches anyone?) but you probably do clean out the lunchboxes and get the water bottles filled and chilled in the fridge to help with prep time in the morning.

20) Check the calendar for events

Because you know that you have forgotten something, and ta-dah! Of course, the next day has a charity thing that requires a donation and an outfit. Or worse, you have to bake a dozen buns and whip up a homemade cheesecake for something that your kids have volunteered you for.

21) Pack any kit bags for afterschool clubs

Football requires booties and music lessons require dusting cloths. I like to check the calendar (see the point above) and get that kit sorted and sitting out so they can lift it with their schoolbag and lunch in the morning rather than play the game of “where is my…..?”

22) Pack the kids PE bags

Remember when we were kids and we just left our PE kit in the school for the whole year? Yeah, they were great times. Disgusting, but really handy for our mums back in the day.

23) Pack your own work bag

After checking your own to-do list for the following workday, you will need to update the contents of your bag or just refill certain things, like those snacks that you keep hidden in the back pocket and take out any rubbish that is shoved in the bottom.

24) Tidy up

Before bed, you will probably feel the need to do a quick tidy about the place (again), and this will probably include putting the rubbish out and hiding the evidence that you eat chocolate and biscuits when the kids aren’t about.

25) Feed and walk the dogs

You probably have done this first thing in the morning too or when the kids had gone to school. But, it needs doing again, otherwise they will bark all night and annoy you with zoomies at 3 am. Yeah, it’s not just cats that go mental and start running about the house in the small hours of the morning.

17 thoughts on “The typical day of a busy parent”

  1. I feel ya girl!! Our job never ends and this post reminded me what I had forgotten I needed to go do-the laundry!!!

  2. Definitely a load of work, but will always be fulfilling in the end! Having to prep at night so that everything’s ready by morning is a good tip especially to keep everything in place and not forget anything when everyone’s on a rush!

  3. A lot goes on behind the scenes, being a mom is definitely a full-time job. My mother raised me and my four other siblings and it definitely took a lot of great time management and energy.

  4. I feel your pain. 18 hour days are commonplace (and I am so looking forward to the holiday weekend). It gets easier in some ways and harder in others.

  5. Tell me about it, when I hit my bed the evening all I do is sigh and tell myself rinse and repeat since the next day I have to start it all over again.

  6. I don’t have kids myself yet but I can imagine these are the typical day of a busy parent. I’m sure it will get easier as children grow older.

  7. I told my husband once that I was jealous he had time away from our kids as well. It’s something I felt guilty about but the truth is – kids are just a lot of work and sometimes long days make us say things the wrong way. I can totally relate! I love your schedule – I also wake up before everyone else in my house – it’s the perfect start to any day!

  8. Being a parent is really a challenging job. To raise a kid is full with responsibilities. Your post highlight and make it more clear.

  9. Wow, reading through that and i am inspired to write down what i get up to each day between the kids and school and little one at home. Just going to take a moment to say well done Mumma! Imagine what the house would be like without you!

  10. I definitely believe being a stay at home parent is waaay more difficult than any day or night time job. I salute moms like you you have a nicely-made routine! You are so inspiring, just so you know.

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