u/notaskindoctor

What boundaries or limits have you set recently to improve or maintain your work/life balance?

Our kids play a lot of sports and are in various other activities. Due to weather and outdoor field conditions, sometimes our kids’ soccer practices are scheduled for EARLIER in the day at the last minute. For example, twice in the last two weeks my 9 year old’s practice has moved from 5:30 PM (already a stretch) to 5 PM to accommodate every age group getting indoor field time when outdoor fields are too wet. I decided that from now on when that happens, we are just not going to make it that day. I get off work at 4:30 and I’m not going to take off work early at the last minute for that to rush around. If it’s planned at least days in advance, we’d make it work, but otherwise no. He can miss occasionally and we make it 99% of the time. I also set a message on the app explaining that we just can’t get there by 5.

Repost from the working moms sub!

Just here to share that you don’t need to fill that tiny bit of capacity you recently regained with another baby. This is a reminder to myself as much as it is to anyone else. 

We are a dual working parent family with 5 kids (we are done, I would have never felt done but we needed to be done for practical reasons, like paying for college for everyone and having enough time for everyone’s activities that they deserve!), and our youngest is 20 months old. My husband usually leaves around 6:30, but he had to leave before 5 AM today. This morning, my 1 year old decided to wake up at 5 AM when I was trying to get up to take a shower, but instead of having to figure out some place to contain him, he nicely sat on a step stool in the bathroom, looking at a book while I took a shower and finished getting ready before getting everybody else up at 6 (we leave the house at 7).

I was thinking about these mini milestones that make life just a tiny, incremental bit easier. Share yours. 😃 

Just here to share that you don’t need to fill that tiny bit of capacity you recently regained with another baby. This is a reminder to myself as much as it is to anyone else. 

We are a dual working parent family with 5 kids (we are done, I would have never felt done but we needed to be done for practical reasons, like paying for college for everyone and having enough time for everyone’s activities that they deserve!), and our youngest is 20 months old. My husband usually leaves around 6:30, but he had to leave before 5 AM today. This morning, my 1 year old decided to wake up at 5 AM when I was trying to get up to take a shower, but instead of having to figure out some place to contain him, he nicely sat on a step stool in the bathroom, looking at a book while I took a shower and finished getting ready before getting everybody else up at 6 (we leave the house at 7).

I was thinking about these mini milestones that make life just a tiny, incremental bit easier. Share yours. 😃 

Hi all. I’m a mom of 5 and have noticed that very few progressive families have their kids involved in sports and extracurriculars. I live in a blue dot in a red state so there should be way more liberal/progressive families proportionally, but I will get the new list of families on a kid’s team (or whatever) and 90% of them are conservatives (we can look up voter registration here, which I do). My kids have played tons of sports but this isn’t limited to athletic events. I’ve noticed it even in marching band/orchestra, knowledge bowl/mathletes, and other activities that are more cerebral. I’ve noticed it in rec sports through the city or the Y, school sports, and in club sports.

If you’re a progressive parent in the US, is there something about extracurriculars that holds you and your family back from participating? We are a dual working parent family so I know the time crunch is tough, but lots of the other families are dual working parent as well. There are so many benefits to individual and team activities like these and I wish my kids had the opportunities to make more friends from progressive families.

Edited to add: Also, for those who do participate, have you noticed this where you live?

I’m mid-career faculty (we have 12 month appointments and work year round, academic medicine/public health) and have been asked to be the new vice chair of our department. I get along well with the chair, the chair believes that we complement each other well and that I would do well in their absence. They will be removing the current vice chair who has not been very effective due to some reasons within and others outside of their control. I would receive a fairly large salary supplement to do so but am already paid quite well, so I do not *need* to do this. I do not teach, currently am heavily funded with research and practice dollars. I have not yet said yes. Our department is basically a mirror image J shape for faculty longevity, with many assistant professors, a couple associate, and several full.

If you’ve been department vice chair in the health sciences or public health, what do you wish you knew? What were your responsibilities?