Today’s guest post is from Stepfanie Cuevas of Stepfanie’s Desk.  She blogs about the craziness of motherhood while juggling a blogging and speaking career.  Stepfanie is the type of friend that exudes energy every time you see her, which is amazing considering she has four kids! Her post today is on balancing everything with a big family, but I think it completely applies even if you’re just chasing after one little one! I’m so excited to share it with you all, so get reading:

Now that summer is over, there are two things that come to mind when you are a parent of a large family:

1) Thank goodness the kids are back in school and we have schedules to look forward to!

and

2) Oh my goodness the kids are back in school and our schedules are going to be hectic!

Being a parent in this day and age with all the expectations, the pressure, and the worry of raising a child, soon doubles or triples when your family grows larger. As a mother to 4 children under 10, our day to day life changes by the hour and it takes some craftiness and a whole lot of giving in to make the day go by smoothly. Whether you are a stay at home parent, work outside of the home, or are an entrepreneur, there are ways you can maintain your family’s life while maintaining your sanity.

1. Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

Having a large family, you want to make sure that every family members needs are met. From the baby, to the teenager, and even mom and dad need to have time for themselves and time to feel special. Make sure you schedule in time for each family member. Use a main calendar in the kitchen, or my personal favorite, Google Calendar, to keep everyone on the same page. Schedule in baseball practice, ballet, but more importantly, schedule a time for everyone to be seated for dinner, movie night, and family game night. This way, you can see where everyone’s time is going, eliminate what may be taking too much of your time, and make sure that family time is not missed.

2. Everyone Has A Chore

One of the mistakes I made early on was trying to take on everything myself. When you have four little ones asking for this and .d..x.x..,  sssssssasking for that, it gets harder when you have to finish the dishes, sweep, mop, and keep the house from burning down. Giving kids chores is not only the best way to keep your home under control, but to teach your kids how to do things for themselves. Easy chores like getting your younger ones to sort through laundry to getting older kids to wipe down cabinets and do yard work will not only allow you to spend more time with the kids, but give them a sense of accomplishment.

3. Letting Your Child Be A Child

Every parent wants to pour themselves into their child. When you go from having one child, to two, to three, it gets harder to put yourself into every single part of their day. One thing parents of multiple children need to understand, what parents of any child needs to understand, is that it is not our job to entertain our children every second of the day. When your child says they are bored or don’t have anything to do, sometimes, the best thing to do is let them figure out what to do on their own. Gone are the days of imaginative play and reading in your room for hours, it’s our job to give our children that freedom to let their mind wander, instead of running to mommy and daddy to entertain them. It’s important to give your children the attention they deserve, but it’s also important to keep your sanity in tact too and let your children figure out how to entertain their minds. Give your kids a chance to be kids, without their parents showing them how.

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Stepfanie Cuevas is a speaker and blogger for the past 7 years. Stepfanie can be found on many different social media sites, from being featured on Problogger.net, Ejunkies Women to Know, and speaking at conferences across the nation or virtually through your computer.

You can follow her personal blog at http://www.StepfaniesDesk.com where she blogs about life as a parent and social media obssessive. You can also find her at http://ww.SocialOnlineConference.com where she is the founder of this virtual, 3 day, conference. Stepfanie Cuevas is the founding editor of http://www.MompreneurEffect.com a blog dedicated to helping mothers become entrepreneurs and grow their businesses.

You can follow her on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/socialstepfanie as well as Instgram at http://www.instagram.com/socialstepfanie.

XO,

A