Is it ok to Leave the Baby for a Work Trip
It is ok to leave your baby and travel for work. You only need to have a reliable childcare plan, possibly with a backup option to ensure everything goes well. Your baby will be fine if they manage to be away from you during normal work hours. As long as the travel isn’t unexpected then everything is fine.
However, this depends both on your child and your trip details. How far and length of trips are key factors to consider when leaving your child behind and going on a business trip. Frequent and longer trips may be harder on you than a few local spread-out business trips.
If your business trip is local, leaving your child is totally fine. If you are traveling internationally, it is still ok. If your trip is long and you feel that your baby may not be able to handle it, you may consider traveling with your baby if it is possible. Never consider it unfair since you also deserve to be out there and working on your job.
Leaving older children to travel for work is easier for working moms than young children. If your baby can bottle feed or is already weaned, then it is totally fine to travel for work for a few days. Also if your baby is already used to you being away at work, they can easily adjust to you traveling for work for a few days.
If you have a reliable child care plan for your small baby you can travel for work. If your baby will be ok without you, and you have a reliable childcare plan, then it is totally fine to leave our baby and travel. Ensure that you are totally prepared and have someone handling any baby emergencies that may arise in your absence.
Traveling for work and parenting with a small baby is 100% doable. If you are not breastfeeding, then you should not be guilty of leaving your child. Your baby must be able to feed and be calm when away from you for the period that you will be traveling.
Should you Accept a Job with Regular Work Trips?
Some jobs may require that you take business trips. Depending on the field and the company that you are working for, the destination, and duration of the work trip may vary. It is hence a hard decision to make if you can accept a job that will require you to travel for work yet you have a small child.
If your partner is supportive go for it. If you love the job, then go for it, even if it involves lots of traveling. Take on that job.
If you feel that your child will manage to be away from you for the required time, then you can take the job. Do not decline to take a job because you do not want to leave your baby behind as you go on a business trip. Children adjust fast and soon you will realize your work arrangement is working out for the best.
On the other hand, do not take a job that has a lot of business trips when you have a young child. If you are frequently required to travel, you will spend a lot of time away from your child, which will affect your bonding. It is ok to wait till your child is older to leave behind so that you can take on a job that has regular business trips.
Read: How to Make Business Trips while Pregnant Easy and Safe
Proven Expert Secrets for Moms Regularly Travelling For Work
1. Get a Reliable Childcare Plan – Popular Tip for Travelling Moms
You will need a reliable child care plan for your child as you travel away for work. To feel confident and at peace, you need someone you can trust and rely on to meet the needs of your baby while you are away on this trip.
Your partner, family members, and friends can offer reliable child care that will allow you to leave your small baby behind. Your partner can totally take over parenting when you are on this trip so that your baby’s needs are met. Equally, your family members such as parents, siblings, or cousins can step in for you.
If you do not have a partner or a family close to you, you can still get reliable childcare to leave your child with and travel for work. Some options include nannies, babysitters, and 24/7 day-cares.
Read: Childcare Options for Moms who Travel for Work
2. Get Support from Husband/Partner- Makes Work Trips Easier
If you have a partner who totally supports your work, then it will be easy to have them take care of everything as you go on a business trip. It will really help if your husband is staying at home dad or has a flexible job and hence can manage to do chores such as daycare drop off, pick ups, feedings, etc.
Your partner should be able to look after the baby or handle daycare drop-offs when you are away. Therefore you can totally go on a business trip as a mom leaving the baby with your partner. Their support is crucial to avoid you feeling guilty about traveling for work while you leave your child behind.
3. Keep in Touch with Baby on your Business Trips
While you are away on business, you need to keep in touch with your baby. Every time you travel for work, you must keep the thoughts of your baby with you.
Ensure that you talk to your baby regularly to find out what they are doing. Do a quick voice or video call whenever you can so that your baby can still feel your presence even when you are away traveling for work.
However, you need to consider the other side of video calls. The calls may end in meltdowns for your kids and may turn out not to be worth it. Therefore consider your specific context before you video call your babies. Do not video-call if you think it will make everything worse.
4. Limit/Balance Work Trips with Parenting
If you hope to meet the needs of your baby you should strike a balance between the business trips and the time you are staying at home. Physical presence for your child is very important and hence you should limit the amount of time you are spending away on business trips.
Depending on how old your child is, set a limit of business trips that you can take in a month or annually and stick to that. Traveling too frequently for work will affect you as a mom and what you have with your baby.
5. Travel with Baby & Family Occasionally
To minimize any negative effect that traveling for work may have on you as a mom, the baby, or family then you can travel with your child or entire family sometimes. If your baby is old enough and can travel, there is no harm in taking them on some of the business trips.
If the nature of your work and your employer allow, consider traveling with your baby to maximize the amount of time you spend with your baby. You only need to have a childcare option at your destination to allow you to work during the day and be with your baby at night.
Having your family tag along is quite great as you can make a weekend trip out of it. You can go ahead to do work stuff, and over the last few days, your partner and the kids can travel to meet you.
Read: How Much Work Travel is too Much
6. Maximise Time you Spend with Baby when not Travelling
If you travel a lot and spend a considerable amount of time away, then maximize the time you spend with your baby when you are not on trips. Ensure you get quality time with your baby before and after you travel for work. Make your time at the home count and be present.
Do daycare drops off and pick-ups whenever you can. Take your kids out and do small things with them. Ensure that dinner time is a family time when you are home and those weekends you spend almost all day with your kids.
Such memories are quite good and count when you have to spend a few days away from your babies on a business trip.
7. Make the Work Trips Fun for the Kids Too
Think about ways to make the trip fun for them. Ensure that you Skype, video calls, etc. as often as you can. Ensure that you get them souvenirs whenever you can. Buy something you can bring back for the kids, usually monumental that is a reminder of the destination or the trip you had.
Take as many videos and pictures as you can and share them with your kids. Take your kids on a video tour of your hotel room and see how excited they become. Leave behind small notes that your kids can go through to kill time before you get back.
Such small fun things and moments will make it easier for you and your kids every time you have to travel away for work.
Expert Tips on Making your Work Trips as a Mom Easier
- Have a standard routine for your kids at home and always keep the routine the same when you are away. Let your partner or the person offering childcare know the drill and replicate it when you are traveling for work so that your kids know what to expect.
- If possible automate some of the things you do such as shopping. It helps avoid making extra burdens for the husband/partner or the person offering childcare.
- Give your partner “time off” once you get home. It may be too hard for you as you just got off the trip and getting resettled, but your partner needs time to decompress.
- You have to let go of what happens at home when you aren’t there and let your partner or your childcare manage it their own way.
- You will feel so much guilt when you have to leave your baby for work trips. It will be hard and you will probably break down every time you leave. But all this does not mean it is the wrong choice.
- Traveling for work and being a mom requires a lot of trade-offs. You will have to let some things slide.
- You may love your time with my kids, but you also love your job and hence you should not mind traveling for work occasionally.
- If you can, you have more flexibility by scheduling your own travel. This way you will be able to keep track of your travel, frequency, and other details.
- You can make work trips and parenting work if you really want that job.
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