Flexible volunteering for a new mother? I have a 10 week old son and will be on maternity leave until march next year. I%26#039;m feeling very privileged at the moment, my son is very settled and I%26#039;m getting plenty of sleep, I live in a lovely area and have a very supportive husband. I%26#039;d like to do some volunteering, I can do office work, shop work and have worked in call centres, but primarily I am a primary teacher. Obviously, I have a little baby to care for too, so it would need to be ultra flexible - I%26#039;d have to be able to bring him with me and feed him whenever he wanted. I live in London and don%26#039;t have a car, but he%26#039;s fine on buses and tubes that have a small number of stairs or a lift. Quite a comlpex one, but any ideas?

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

How about minding children while their moms are taking classes at community centers or health care facilities or churches or whatever? There%26#039;s a big demand for this kind of volunteer in the U.S., especially in neighborhoods where there are a lot of disadvantaged, single moms trying to improve their lot in life through education and training.

How about working from home? If you have an interest in a charitable or religious institution, they often have clerical work you can do at home or on-site with your baby. For example, I coordinate volunteers for our synagogue gift shop, and I do almost all of this from home, using the phone and e-mail.

A more %26quot;professional%26quot; option for you would be leading or assisting with a %26quot;mommy and me%26quot; class/program. These are very popular in the U.S., and are probably prevalent also in Britain (who knows, maybe we got the idea from y%26#039;all!). In my outdated experience (my youngest child is 20!) %26quot;mommy and me%26quot; programs are usually run out of churches, synagogues, preschools, and community centers. The purpose is to provide a social environment for moms and toddlers, and to educate young moms about interacting with their toddlers in a social environment. For example, a lesson I learned in this group is that children aren%26#039;t ready to share until about age 3. Until that age, it%26#039;s best to teach kids how to take turns when playing with toys. I also learned when it was best to take my child out of a social environment, when either she%26#039;s not in a state of mind to be %26quot;social%26quot; in a good way, or when other children are out of control.

Good luck to you, and I hope you completely enjoy your child%26#039;s infancy! Such a magical time! 100% 3 Votes

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