This post may contain affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
My kids are nearly five years apart so there aren’t a lot of toys and games they can play together.
These remote control cars are something they can both enjoy. Although aimed at toddlers/little kids, my oldest enjoys playing with them as well. The cars play music and other sounds and come with two removable figures and an easy-to-use remote (there are only two buttons).
When my kids build obstacle courses and race each other, I get a little break until they move onto the next thing.
This pair of remote control cars is available on Amazon.
Sales of note for 5.5.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase (ends 5/12); $50 off your $200+ purchase (ends 5/5)
- Banana Republic Factory – Spend your StyleCash with 40-60% off everything, or take an extra 20% off purchase (ends 5/6)
- Eloquii – $19 & up 300+ styles and up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Shirts & tees starting at $24.50; extra 30% off sale styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – 40% off full-price styles & extra 15% off; extra 55% off sale styles
- Nordstrom: Nordy Club members earn 3X the points on beauty; 30% off selected shoes
- Talbots – 40% off one item & and 30% off everything else; $50 off $200 (all end 5/5)
- Zappos – 27,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – 40% off everything & extra 20% off select styles with code
- Hanna Andersson – Friends & Family Sale: 40% off sitewide
- J.Crew Crewcuts – tk; extra 30% off sale styles; kids’ styles starting at $14.50
- Old Navy – Up to 75% off clearance
- Target – 20% off women’s clothing & shoes; up to 50% off kitchen & dining; 20% off jewelry & hair accessories; up to $100 off select Apple products; up to 40% off home & patio; BOGO 50% off adult & YA books
AwayEmily says
What time in the AM is it appropriate for kids to be playing outside? They’ve been asking to play outside in the mornings before camp but I don’t want to wake our neighbors…we live in a city, so our neighbors are fairly close (we share a driveway with one of them). Kids are 4 and 6, and their playing tends to involve a fair bit of happy shouting and laughing.
Anonanonanon says
When does camp start? Big difference between 6 AM and 8 AM imo. I’d say 8 AM or later on a weekday would have been fair game when I lived in a rowhome community.
Anonymous says
I would say 8:00 is fair game.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Haha, my husband is always a little embarrassed when our kids are running around outside at 7am (after they’ve already been up for an hour…) I think if neighbors aren’t complaining, it’s fine. People walk their dogs early and sometimes they bark. I wouldn’t send a kid out at 4am, but after 7 seems fine, especially if they’re just laughing/playing and not screaming at the top of their lungs. We’re in a more traditional suburb, although houses are fairly close together.
Anon says
Maybe ask your closest neighbors? They’re the ones most affected by this. But I would say 7 am on is generally fine; before 7 is probably more debatable although personally I wouldn’t be annoyed. Kids aren’t the only things making noise early in the morning, especially in a city.
Boston Legal Eagle says
Aah yes, on the last point, our trash and recycling trucks often come shortly after 7 once a week.
HSAL says
I think after 7 would be fine.
Anonymous says
Who are your neighbors? I would say generally after 7am is okay, 8am is safe, and if your neighbors are retired and late risers, perhaps check in with them and see how they feel.
If your neighbors pull out of the driveway to go to work at 8am, then 7am should be fine.
Anon says
I’m surprised by the 8 am answers! I’m a night owl who sleeps in but I would think nothing of kids playing outside at 7 am on a weekday. Hotel quiet hours rarely go past 8 and that’s when everyone is on vacation and trying to sleep in.
Anon says
I’m surprised too! On a weekday, I think 7 is fine. And I say that as someone who used to wake up at 8 on the weekdays. I could sleep later than most people, but that didn’t mean I expected my neighbors (in an apartment building) to tiptoe and whisper just because I could sleep later than them.
Anonymous says
My answer was 8:00 because I don’t want my neighbors mowing their lawns before 8:00 a.m.
AwayEmily says
Thanks all. Seems like the modal response is 7:00 with a few 8:00s thrown in, so I’ll split the difference and won’t let them out before 7:30. This actually makes me feel better, I had been worried everyone would say 9am.
Anonymous says
7:30 is my benchmark. We live near a lot of other elementary-age kids, so everyone’s getting up early for school/camp/because the sun is up and there are usually at least a couple kids outside by 8. I try to avoid 7 for the sake of the teenagers across the street. :)
Anon says
8 AM is the earliest, and 9 would be better.
Car seat & stroller advice? says
I’m expecting my first this winter, and am wondering about car seats and strollers. Some info: 1) Baby will only ride in one car, so I don’t need extra bases/car seats, 2) I don’t think we’ll be taking a lot of walks right away (b/c winter, cold, and ice). Will I still want a car seat that snaps directly into the stroller? 3) I’d prefer a set that will work from newborn to toddler, to keep things simpler. Any recs or advice? I’m not really sure where to start.
AIMS says
Congrats!
This is very individual but I dislike having a car seat that snaps in. We had the uppababy seat and stroller (cruz)and it just made it easy to go to the doctor, supermarket, restaurant, visit friends and family (built in nap spot/seat for baby), take a vacation (we had a winter baby too but ended up taking a trip to FL & the seat was great for traveling), etc.
I remember not being impressed by the seats that work from newborn to much past 18 months but maybe they have improved. The technology just seems too different (base vs no base) and anything that is big enough to work with a large toddler seemed way too big to work well with a newborn.
HSAL says
Will baby be in daycare or with a nanny? If home with a nanny you can probably skip it, but if you’re taking baby to daycare (or otherwise out of the house frequently) it’s so much easier to get a tiny baby in and out of a bucket seat inside than in the cold.
anonamama says
Let’s start with car seat. Infants are in a “bucket seat” for a good bit of their first year – height/weight will dictate how they move out. So for this purpose, you have a variety of companies making this type of mode – Chicco, Britax, Graco; Most stroller companies have adapters, and generic ‘click and go’ kind of strollers are available, too. Look to Child Passenger Safety Technicans for help in installing and understanding the car seats – it’s very helpful to know as kids are in car seats/booster for 10+ years. (SafeintheSeat on instagram or Car Seat Lady can be helpful).
For stroller, think about your lifestyle and activities, do you want something lightweight/foldable? do you jog? Ask around moms in your neighborhood on what they like/use. Once baby has enough head/neck strength you can put them in a car seat without the stroller – maybe 6 months or so. Popular ones around here seem to be BOB, CityMini, Uppababy (for its various configurations), etc. Check out a baby store if you have one to narrow down what you like. Depending on your area, the resale market can be strong too.
We did Chicco infant seat + adapter + City Mini GT for our hilly neighborhood, eventually ditching adapter/seat; and also have a GB Pockit for travel. Love both strollers!
Congrats – this board is a gold mine of advice, recs and support!
Boston Legal Eagle says
I liked the ability to be able to transport baby directly in their carseat when taking them places so you don’t have to worry as much about transporting when they fall asleep or all bundled up when taking them to the doctor for example. I think this would only be an option with a bucket seat, so not one that can be used for toddlers. If you’ll be doing all this while walking, that may make a difference, but we tended to still drive a lot of places.
Anonymous says
The book Baby Bargains has some recs on car seats that go from newborn to toddler (i.e. convertible car seats). I believe they recommend the Chicco NextFit Zip
Pogo says
I do like the Chicco NextFit Zip. We have four of them – 2 in each car!
Anon says
Congratulations! We have a 6 month old in Boston and live in the city, with one car which is not used for commuting. We did not get adapters and don’t really miss them. Sure there would be times that we use them if we had them, but we’ve never felt it was burdensome to move baby out of the car seat into the stroller bassinet or ergo carrier. This is probably only because when we’re in the car to begin with, we’re going somewhere like a walk or to family, not running a ton of errands since we do those all on foot.
We have an Uppababy stroller like practically everyone else in Boston. I like it but am not as obsessed as everyone else is with them. It’s for sure a workhorse. We used the bassinet for overnight sleep at first which was great given how small our apartment is. The stroller does better than any I’ve seen on cobblestones and rickety narrow brick sidewalks which are all around where we live. We use a Chico car seat which is great but only good for infants.
Anon says
I just got a convertible car seat (I got the Graco extend to fit), skipping the infant bucket seat, and a stroller that had an infant insert (I did Mockingbird). No regrets on my end! The only pain was that the hospital makes you take the car seat inside so we had to un-install it, bring it in and then re-install it.
anon says
FWIW I had a late fall baby and we never got one of the ones that snap in and never missed it. We, too, weren’t going anywhere much that winter (at least not in the car, we did most things on foot with baby in a sling or carrier or, eventually, the stroller). Agree with others, though, that it’s better to get a dedicated infant carseat and then switch to a convertible. Those “all-in-ones” generally have huge drawbacks/poor satisfaction in reviews.
Anon says
You can’t really use the same car seat from newborn to toddler. Read Lucie’s List (it’s a website) They do a great job explaining everything and suggesting products at different price points.
Lydia says
Lucie’s list is a great rec! Super clear and helpful, and actual recs, rather than just a giant list of affiliate links. The carseat influencer instagram and blog accounts are helpful but also can be anxiety-inducing… I had to unfollow safeintheseat because she was giving me too much anxiety. (also remember that a lot of them are businesses disguised as mom-to-mom accounts, so it’s in their interest to get you to buy their safety courses etc. Lucie’s List is also a mom-run business, but doesn’t try to sell you courses).
For carseats, I agree with the rec to start with a bucket seat and then switch to a convertible carseat around 1. It’s worth it to be able to haul the baby inside in the bucket seat. If you have a small car (we have a honda fit and a chevy spark), the Graco Extend2Fit and the Graco 3-in-1 Slim both fit small backseats well (for toddlers, though, not infants).
For strollers: we got a Colugo complete with an infant insert…basically, a basinette for the stroller, so the baby is lying down. I liked this better than strapping the baby into the carseat and then sticking that on the stroller. After 5-6 months, the stroller converts to a regular stroller. The only downside is it’s a bit heavy to push with a bigger child, so most of the time now we just use a lightweight foldable travel stroller.
Pogo says
I think the bucket seat is worth it for the ease that first year. You can just take baby + car seat and carry them inside if they’re still sleeping, or into the store, or whatever. I used the snap-n-go stroller extensively in that first year since it’s so lightweight and easy to use.
After that, we opted to just use a jogging stroller as our main stroller. Yes, it’s a beast, but mostly we’re strolling direct from our house (not packing it up in the car) and I love that it handles all terrain. For my youngest I never got an adapter, I went from the snap-n-go setup to putting him direct in the jogging stroller around 6mos; with our second, we got a double jogger and used an adapter for the bucket seat when he was tiny.
Anonymous says
We mostly used adapters with a car seat on a stroller when traveling by air. It helps you consolidate stuff and makes transitions a lot easier.
If travel isn’t a major need, then you’re mostly going to be dealing with situations where you can a) lug the car seat from your car to daycare/ doctor/ etc, or b) put your stroller in the back of the car and just move the baby to the stroller when you arrive.
If you drive a lot, and you’ll need to bring the stroller with you a lot, then I would prioritize a stroller that’s super easy to fold/ unfold. No one wants to wrestle a stroller in the freezing cold while a baby with a poopy diaper is screaming.
But if you don’t drive a lot, and you’ll mostly be taking walks with the stroller, then the folding/ unfolding isn’t such a big deal.
No Face says
I liked the bucket seat in the winter because I could tuck blankets around the baby inside for the walk to the car, and then remove the blanket when the car warms up. I also liked being able to just take the car seat and snap into the stroller into wherever we were going if she fell asleep during the drive. But we also had two cars, and three grandparent cars so it was nice to have the bases.
There’s no wrong answer here.
Anon says
A few thoughts:
1) I loved the bucket seat. Loved it. So nice to be able to get baby all strapped in inside, tuck the blanket around, etc. etc. and then just walk out to the car and “click” and you’re done. Esp nice when it is cold or sleeting. Ours outgrew it at 8 months and I was so sad to be done with it early!
2) I had an October baby, and next baby is due in January, and I’m a big fan of winter walks outside with the baby. Esp if they are in a bassinet! Warm bunting, blanket, hat, mittens, they are shielded from the wind and the fresh air is so good for both of you. I would do long walks daily in very cold temps and it was great, so don’t discount the weather (unless you hate the cold – I’m not saying you HAVE to go out in it, I’m just saying you don’t have to stay inside with the baby if you don’t want to).
anonamama says
yes to these esp #2! Once they weigh enough to be in a wearable carrier, it is soo much easier to strap them on you, bundle up and go. Check the weight range on the carriers you are registering for (Baby Bjorn, Ergo, etc); some of these you can use earlier than others. I like the Boppy Soft carrier. Easy for everyone!
anon says
If you live somewhere cold you’ll want a bucket seat because you won’t want to be strapping an infant into a freezing cold seat without a coat. With a bucket seat, you bring the seat inside so it warm and you can tuck blankets in around the baby.
We really liked the Britax B-agile system as it had an easy fold stroller similar to the City Mini and a good bucket seat. It’s a middle of the road price option. Not luxury.
anonymous says
+1. If you don’t have a bucket seat, you may feel trapped in the winter. That’s not a good feeling. It’s already logistically complicated to get out and about with a baby. Don’t make it harder on yourself with a freezing cold carseat.
Anonymous says
+1 to the Britax system.
OP says
Thank you all! This is my first time posting on the moms site and I’m so appreciative of the supportive advice and great suggestions.
Anonymous says
Extra thanks from me. I’m in the same situation and took lots of notes from this thread.
Aunt Jamesina says
I had a winter baby in Chicago with an Uppababy Cruz and a Mesa seat that snapped in. After reading and hearing from our pediatrician about how you aren’t supposed to let your baby stay in a carseat much beyond when they have to be in it because of the risk of positional asphyxiation, we rarely ever snapped our carseat into the stroller frame. I think we literally did it twice. We either put her in the actual stroller for walks, or just carried the carseat out of the car and removed her once we were indoors.
In your shoes, I would buy whichever stroller and carseat you want without worrying about compatibility, then if you decide you do want that feature, either buy the adapter to make your stroller compatible with your carseat, or buy a cheapie carseat stroller frame.
AwayEmily says
Oh, also they can start riding in the regular stroller pretty early if you get a positioner (I never would have known these existed but was given one as a hand-me-down — they’re like $20 at Target) and recline the stroller way back. We were doing that for short walks by 2.5 months or so. Not safe for sleep but fine for a little jaunt.
Mm says
Happy Friday! I’m sure similar threads on this have come up but search is failing me. Does anyone have vacation recommendations for a week in November with a toddler? Possibly a beach resort or something else easy and decent weather would be a bonus, too. Flying from the Midwest.
Anon says
Puerto Vallarta (or Punta Mita if your budget is $$$).
Anon says
We’ve gone to Destin in December twice with an almost 2 and then almost 3 year old. It was very chill, which is good with a kid that age. Stayed right on the beach so DH and I could enjoy nice views and ocean breeze during naps. Did a couple of outings to state parks (including one where we saw devil rays and alligators) but didn’t feel like we were missing anything just by chilling at the house.
People in the south moan about how the panhandle being cold in winter but coming from the Midwest it was soooo lovely. Every day (both trips) was 65+, so very nice walking/beach playing weather and some days were mid-70s and sunny and we went swimming (we swim in Maine in the summers so we have a pretty good tolerance for cold water but the ocean in the panhandle felt pretty warm to me). November should be even warmer.
Anon says
Counterpoint: At that time of year, a lot of restaurants/attractions on the panhandle will be closed. Typically Columbus Day/fall break is the end of the season.
Anon says
We did not experience that at all, although we’re Covid cautious and weren’t doing much indoors at the time. But we had zero issues finding nice restaurants w/outdoor seating. I’ve definitely had the experience you describe in New England beach towns after Columbus Day, but I don’t recall coming across a single business in the Destin area that was closed for the season. Maybe it’s more year round recently with the pandemic?
Anonymous says
Can you share where you stayed please? This sounds like a dream!
Anon says
We stayed in this house and it was lovely. https://www.vrbo.com/2053050
But there are a lot of beachfront options in that area!
Anonymous says
We did Destin for Christmas, it was really nice! Low 70s and sunny during the day, low 50s at night. We stayed at a condo right on the beach (found through VRBO, same as the below commenter).
Anon says
It’s usually still pretty warm here in Southern California in November, so I’d say San Diego? Lots of kid friendly stuff to do and great beachfront hotels.
anonM says
Thanks to whomever shared the last McSweeney’s article, it send me down a bit of a rabbit hole. But YOU ARE WELCOME, fellow daycare moms. Here’s your friday laugh.
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/my-favorite-controlled-substance-is-daycare
Boston Legal Eagle says
Love this. Oh that withdrawal from March-June 2020 was brutal. Never again. Public school is like a cheap replacement when you’re used to full time coverage all year, often with all food provided!
FVNC says
Could not love this more. Very sad my long time supplier will be cutting me off as my youngest starting K in August.
Pogo says
This is great. “eating yogurt out of her bib pocket during my 1:1 with my boss” is disturbingly close to my real life sometimes.
anonM says
Yes! And also after hearing BOBW talk about how to do a proper nanny share, this line made me lol: “You know, those super-parent savants who can work the twisted bowels of running a tax-compliant, multi-family nanny-share operation like they are the Walter Whites of childcare.”
Anonymous says
We just got back from a lake vacation in Northern Michigan and I wanted to stay forever. Next summer, I’d like to rent a house on the water up there for three or four weeks and work remotely. How do I find a nice rental that’s clean and nice and not rundown? I am very suspicious of airbnb and vrbo based on relatives’ experiences. Are there ways to find reputable local rental agencies? I am totally new to this rental thing.
Anon says
What bad experiences have you had? Vrbo and AirBNB are both reputable and if you find a place with a bunch of good reviews, you should be fine. Some places have location-specific rental sites (I’m the person who recommended Destin above and in Destin there’s Emerald Coast By Owner) but in my experience it usually overlaps at lot with VRBO. Our rental house was listed on both. You rent directly from the owner, and usually if there’s an issue it’s with the owner, not the broker site whether it’s local or a national chain like VRBO.
Anonymous says
We have not personally rented through AirBNB or VRBO, but relatives have had all sorts of awful experiences. Noise, inadequate A/C, terrible mattresses, filth, etc. Every time I’ve looked at rentals on line they all look very cluttered and dated. I don’t want to feel like I’m in someone else’s house–I want hotel-like decor and absolute cleanliness.
Anonymous says
We rent on or near the beach in MI annually, and usually the really big houses are better (newer, cleaner, better decor), but the smaller ones are tricky. You may need to go with a cabin/cottage village, rather than a one-off rental. Pick a city and go to their tourism website and see if they have any links for rentals. They’re likely also in VRBO and similar, but may be linked directly because of their size. I’ve also seen real estate companies there have longer term rentals.
Anonymous says
This is very helpful–thanks!
Anonymous says
Then you aren’t looking for a vacation house in northern Michigan 🤣 search for cottage resort instead.
Anon says
Ok, so that’s an owner issue not a broker issue, and isn’t specific to VRBO or AirBNB. I’ve never rented a house I would describe as “awful,” but they do tend to feel less clean and more lived-in than luxury hotels. If you want to feel like you’re at a hotel, you need to stay at a hotel.
Anon says
We’ve done a ton of Airbnbs and VRBOs with good success. Here is what I’ve noticed though. We live in an area with attractive year round travel, and generally travel to places with attractive year round travel. So the Airbnbs are pretty nice, because it makes a nice financial return for someone to own them and rent them out as such and that ups the competition for everyone else trying to rent a place out.
However, we are originally from an area like I imagine Upper Michigan where it’s not really a travel destination for 7-8 months of the year. When we look for Airbnbs in our home state, the options are as sad as you describe. And it makes sense. Because it probably doesn’t make a ton of financial sense for someone to own and maintain a nice rental house. And anyone that owns a nice vacation home that they use is probably using it for the few months of the year they can. So you are left with probably the neglected likely multi generation properties that maybe no one really uses but they don’t want to sell that are not great. I know this doesn’t help you OP, but I do think that the Airbnb availability and quality can matter a lot depending on where you are looking.
Anon says
Yeah we did a beach trip to Michigan in summer 2020 and had a hard time finding a decent place to stay. I’ve had much better luck in other areas.
anonM says
Check out Sunset Valley Resort. We are staying there later this summer, so I can give better first-hand info later, but my family raved about it last year. Not extravagant, but very nice. I suspect you could negotiate a monthly price because the owners are approachable.
Anon says
We only stay in nearly 5-star airbnbs hosted by super hosts and have never had a problem.
Anonymous says
I’ve had really good experience with Airbnb, and we almost exclusively do Airbnb or VRBO since we like 3 bedrooms so our kids sleep well.
ElisaR says
read the reviews!! reviews have been very helpful. i actually haven’t had a bad ABNB or VRBO experience yet. But I heavily rely on reviews for each property.
Marieanne says
We had a good experience last summer with Visit Up North vacation rentals, which is a local property management company. I wouldn’t recommend the specific house though (we were constrained by my in-laws’ budget and slim pickings by the time we got around to reserving something). They had several properties I would like to go back and try sometime with just my daughter and husband.
anonamama says
Guys, we did it — potty training using the Big Little Feelings/Oh Crap method. We did 4 days, and **just** when we were at our breaking point, it clicked for DS and he has had success while going commando. Daycare requires a pull up, and he had 1 accident/day. Before I start sounding like the POOPCUP this is turning into, we are dealing with TONS of tantrums, resistance to taking the pull up off in the morning and after school and meltdowns at bedtime, meals, accidents, etc. I’m attributing this to the big change we just went through and trying to be calm when all i want to do is scream. SO – with the initial period over, what do I need to know to navigate the next couple months of early potty training?
Anonymous says
I wouldn’t bother potty training if they have to wear a pull up all day at day care and I would strenuously push back on that requirement. Way too confusing for a kiddo and lazy day care.
anonM says
Set some timers on your phone for the weekend, because once they’re almost there it gets easy to forget they are still training. Bring extra supplies for extended car rides, whether you opt for a pull-up or just have a towel/clothing change on hand just in case.
anon says
How old is he? I’d have different answers for newly 2 than almost 4 yo.
Either way I’d do my best to try to catch him doing anything good and praise the heck out of it. I’d also try earlier bedtimes for a bit. He sounds overtired.
OP says
He’ll be 3 in Nov! Thank you!
anon says
One good routine to set is that everyone has to go potty (or at least try) before leaving the house every time. Adults included. Let him see you potty, too.
Anonymous says
I just interviewed for a job that would definitely be in my wheelhouse, would be interesting and would pay about twice as much as my current job (which I actually like, and also is slow enough to allow me a lot of flexibility for parenting stuff). This is really a question for myself, but typing it out is helpful — should I jump into a faster-paced, higher-workload job for more money (and more interesting projects), or stay in a slow and reliable job? I’ve got one toddler, on the fence about having another.
govtattymom says
Congratulations! To me, the answer would depend on if you want to have another kid and how much you care about personally doing certain childcare tasks. As I’m sure you have heard a million times, two kids is a different world from one kid. It means double the sick days, double the doctors visits, etc. It can be difficult if your job requires a lot of hours. On another note, it sounds like the salary of the new job would enable you to pay for additional childcare. So some of that comes down to whether you want to outsource or whether it’s important for you to personally do certain tasks (say take your kids to swim lessons, haircuts, etc.) Sounds like you are in a good position (like your new job but also like this potential opportunity).
Spirograph says
YMMV but in my experience, faster pace and higher workload doesn’t necessarily mean less flexibility. Or at least not enough less flexibility that it’s incompatible with normal daycare coverage and hours. Flexibility has *much* more to do with your supervisor and the team/company culture. I would try really hard to get a good read on those, and if it seems like a good fit, don’t let the pace scare you away. Assuming you’re someone who doesn’t mind fast-paced work, at least. If that’s not your jam, stay where you are!
I’ll also just add that if your toddler is in daycare, *now* is the time to try it out. Daycare is generally much more reliable than elementary school, and by then you’ll know whether the pace, workload, and level of interest are adding up to something good enough to stick with when the logistics might get a bit more challenging with older kids. I didn’t believe it when people told me at the time, but daycare years are kinda the easy years, from a time management standpoint (they’re the hard years in other ways, of course!).
avocado says
+ 1 million to your second paragraph. Day care after 12 months was by far the easiest phase of being a working parent for me. I imagine it will get somewhat easier again once kiddo is driving.
-Parent of high-school kid too young to drive
Boston Legal Eagle says
+1 to all of this. Your team can really make or break it, more so than the actual workload. If you have to sit in an office from 9-5, with limited flexibility but not a lot of work, that’s harder for me than more work but more flexibility on when you can do it. And yes on the daycare years being more of a predictable schedule! (pandemics notwithstanding)
Anonymous says
Consider that the extra money may buy you extra flexibility and free time.
Anon says
What about a spouse/partner? What does their workload look like (if you have someone)? I will say that my HHI went up by 60% last year and it’s amazing. My husband has less flexibility than he had but he likes the work and the money has reduced a lot of stress.
anonM says
Twice the pay – wow, good for you! You should feel good about that offer either way.
A few factors, especially if you decide on two kids: Do you or your partner, if applicable, travel for work or if you are a single parent? That would make high-workload weeks more challenging. Do you have good support, like family nearby that are willing to help out during crunch weeks? And, are you someone who is ok with on-the-fly meals or messier house when it is a busy week, or is that going to be a huge stress? (No wrong answer here, just pointing out some things that make a difference to me).
Anon says
I did the opposite of this and scaled down my fast pace, high workload job to about 70% of the work and 70% of the pay. The biggest factor for me was that I was in a very privileged position where my time felt more valuable than more money. I realized all our needs/wants were being met and the increased income just meant nicer things that weren’t really increasing our happiness. Really think about what this money would mean/do for you.
I’d recommend listing out what this new schedule/commitments would look like. What’s going to give? Are you going to outsource everything (and how much is that going to cost)? Are you giving up time with your family? Are you giving up you time?
I don’t want to make it seem like I’m against this for you at all- I’m not! It could be amazing! This was just what my thoughts were.