I Want to be a Working Parent

Submitted by Jaiess Rabbit

A parent shares personal struggles that prevent her from working and asks for advice from working parents in similar situations.

I am a mother who has Borderline Personality Disorder, Anxiety and Agoraphobia. My son has ADHD and ODD. We're on our own, and even though we face many challenges, funny things happen to us, and I blog about them. I also blog about my experiences with mental illness and depression. Those stories aren't funny.

I swear, cook, clean, yell, talk, and calm … before breakfast most mornings. 

I'm also unemployed. I want to work, but I'm not sure I can offer an employer the consistency they need right now. 

Still, I remain hopeful that my son will make enough progress to enable me to find a job soon. Parenting is always difficult, and most parents will probably agree that it requires flexibility, adaptation and the ability to learn, invent, and implement problem-solving skills on a regular basis. With a special-needs child I feel like these skills are critically important and I'm developing them to the fullest.

When my son had alienated all of his classmates to the point that I felt it would be impossible for him to recover, I found a new school for him that was better at meeting his needs. Then I convinced him that he needed to change his own behavior in order to improve his situation. And guess what? It worked! Things aren't perfect, but they have definitely improved. I hope that the skills I've needed to develop as a parent will be of value to an employer at some point in the future. 

If you are a working parent dealing with similar issues, I'm eager to hear how you've overcome them to establish a career for yourself. Please leave comments below or visit my blog. Thank you.

Jaiess Rabbit is a mother and blogger.

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​--  Jaiess Rabbit (blog)

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