Czworka Dzieci i Kariera

Ponizej cytuje ciekawy (chociaz nie wyczerpujacy) kawalek z Wall Street Journal, na fascynujacy mnie temat kariery i wielo-dzietnych rodzin.

"Sara Moss, (pictured) executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of the Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and mother of four gave the keynote speech. Ms. Moss talked about her career, having children at 36, 38, 40 and 42 — one with serious health problems — and the challenges of juggling meetings, school events, business trips and children’s ear infections.

Here are her top 10 tips for making it all work, as well as some excerpts from her speech:

10. It’s a Juggle, Not a Balance: “Different things take precedence at different times, as they should. If you have a sick child, that’s what’s important. If you have a trial, that’s what important. . this way you can achieve some balance over time. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

9. Take Care of Yourself First: “You’re going to need energy for this juggle.”

8. Stay Focused on What is Important to You and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

7. Don’t Apologize for Your Choices: “To your children or anyone else. Many of us are fortunate enough to have interesting work that is challenging and rewarding. We shouldn’t feel guilty about it . . . Now, I did not do this, for many years. I spent a lot of time feeling guilty.”

6. Don’t Demonize Other Women’s Choices: “I do have a confession — any time that a child got into real trouble at one of my kid’s schools, the first things I wanted to know was whether the mother worked, and if their mother didn’t work, I said, ‘oh I‘m glad!’ That was bad of me. Don’t do that! Every woman is. . .trying to figure it out the best way she can.”

5. Establish Routines that Reinforce Time for the Relationship or Passion: She mentioned making time for exercise or reading to kids every night.

4. It Takes a Village to Raise a Child: “Look to your family and good friends to create a community and support for your children.”

3. Create Quality Time Whenever You Can: Ms. Moss said that when her children were old enough, she took them on business trips. She also created the “eighth grade trip,” taking one child alone on a trip at that point to wherever they wanted to go, including Egypt and different parts of Europe. On the trips, she said, she could spend time with that one child, which was “different from the zone defense I was used to.”

2. Be There When You Are There: “You can actually go to the park without your BlackBerry.”

1. Enjoy the Ride: “I feel that doing this juggle . . that I have a wonderful, rich, interesting life.”