Are You the Neighborhood Doormat?

Posted by Diane Laney Fitzpatrick Nov 1, 2007

If you're a stay-at-home parent, you're probably a nice person :) (We all are, aren't we?)

But there's nice and then there's nice.

When I first stayed home with my kids, I felt guilty for not taking care of every kid in our neighborhood on days off school, not driving every day-time carpool, not rushing to every working parent's rescue.

It's an easy trap to fall into.

I'm home, I can do it was my mantra, not just in my neighborhood, but in my kids' schools, at church, at scouts, everywhere.

Follow that line of thinking and you'll find yourself operating a free daycare, running multiple programs at school, and running out of juice boxes.

They key is to find a balance. Be nice, help out when needed, but be assertive. Remember the reason you're not working outside the home anymore. A little volunteer work is a good thing, but if you let it take over, you'll lose sight of your primary objectives in taking care of your own family.