Mommy Mondays: The Organized Parent

I think one of the things that surprised me most about being a parent is the amount of organization that’s involved. Keeping in mind that I’m not yet to the carpool-sports games-and school activities stage of parenthood, there’s an amazing amount of planning, coordination, and management involved when raising kids. Here are just some of the managerial tasks involved in my life right now:

• Meal planning and cooking (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks)
• Grocery shopping
• Cleaning the house, the kids, the dishes…
• Doing laundry…including the dreaded task of folding and putting it all away
• Helping with homework (and don’t forget to read every night!)
• Processing and responding to flyers from school
• Scheduling regular doctor and dentist visits
• Filing health information and immunization records
• Filling out daycare/school forms. Make copies. Submit the forms. File the copies.
• Buying and bringing school snacks at the right time of the month
• Calling the daycare, the main school office, AND remembering to leave a note for the teacher in your kids’ backpack when you have a schedule change
• Switching out kid’s clothes, donating the old, outgrown clothes and restocking the dressers and closets with clothes that fit
• Finding babysitters and coordinating those schedules
• Making sure the medicine cabinet is stocked
• Getting the right books and outfits for your activities (piano books, dance clothes, etc.)
• Making sure your kid has clothes in school colors and that he wears them on the right day (first, don’t forget to find out what the school colors are…)

I fully recognize that most of the items on this list are not unique to parents—it’s just a part of being an adult. I also realize that this little list only touches the surface of what’s involved in structuring the days, weeks, and months of family life.

But I bring this up because I don’t remember reading about this side—the organizational, CEO side—of being a parent in all those parenting books. And I have several friends right now who are about to start families of their own (let’s face it—I’m in a field that is predominantly comprised of women, so I almost always know at least one person who is pregnant).

So this is my little heads up to you, my current and future pregnant friends (and spouses of pregnant friends)—given this incredible journey you are about to embark on, you might consider adding “planner” to your baby shower wish list.

Tagged as: Mommy CEO, Mommy Mondays