This morning my 8-year-old daughter was sitting at the kitchen table watching me make breakfast. Of course, she still had on her PJs, hadn’t brushed her teeth or made any progress beyond rolling out of bed. We had just 40 minutes until we had to walk out the door to head to school.
Me: Honey, what are you doing?
Daughter: Waiting for you to finish making me breakfast.
Me: OK, well I’m going to be about 10 minutes. What might you be doing in that time?
Daughter: I dunno.
Me: (Oh, I love learning moments!) I’m going to make a suggestion and then you can go do it. When you’re done, come back here and we’ll talk about the difference between being proactive and being reactive while we eat. Okay?
Daughter: (sigh) Alright…
When she returned I explained the difference between proactive and reactive:
A reactive person waits until the last minute to do something and is usually rushing. A proactive person thinks ahead a bit and chooses to act early. It really boils down to being thoughtless or thoughtful.
Of course, any time I dish out an important life lesson to my kids or my clients, it turns around to bite me in the tail as I’m reminded of how I occasionally fail to take my own advice. I do my best to be proactive, but I’m like any other working mom. Life happens and I end up being reactive.
One area where I tend to slip into reactive mode is child care.
I have two children in grade school and one who goes to an in-home preschool a few times a week. So generally, my weekdays are free to work and child care isn’t a big issue. That is until the school is closed for an “in service” that I forget to put on my calendar and it later conflicts with an important client appointment. There are also times when my husband and I receive a last-minute invitation to go out for an adult-only evening with friends, and I’m left wondering, “Who will watch the kids?” There are many more instances when I’m suddenly reactive and need a child care solution. Since I don’t have extended family nearby to lend a hand, I rely on resources like Care.com to fill in my child care gaps.
Last year, I was given an opportunity to test-drive Care.com for a month. I was impressed! Care.com helps families find high-quality caregivers who can help with a wide-range of services including, child care, tutoring, senior care, pet care, housekeeping and more. As a member of Care.com you have access to detailed profiles, background checks and references for hundreds of thousands of providers. Here are a few of my favorite features:
- Care-on-Call™: Ever have your nanny call in sick, or like me, schedule an important business meeting on a day when the kids are scheduled to be home? Your problems could be solved in a few clicks at the Care.com site. Send an immediate broadcast to caregivers who meet your criteria. Available caregivers will respond for you to interview and hire.
- Care Exchange™: If money is tight and you can’t afford to hire a caregiver, then you can exchange services for free with other Care.com members. Post an ad or browse ones in your area. It’s a neat opportunity to meet people in your community and handle your caregiving needs.
- Care Gigs: Sometimes it’s the little things that get in the way of what matter most and with Care.com you can outsource those little things like running errands, grocery shopping, moving tasks, party planning and more.
Becoming a Care.com member is a practical, simple way to be proactive about child care, so that you can be reactive when you have to be. So check them out and sign up for a free Basic account with limited access. It won’t be long until you’re ready to upgrade to access all the bells ‘n whistles, and it’ll be worth it.
- Learn more about Care.com: Click HERE
- Become a Care.com fan on Facebook and enter their Valentine’s Day contest while you’re there: Click HERE
- Follow Care.com on Twitter: @CareAtCare
Links to Care.com are affiliate links. Please read full disclosure HERE.
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Excellent resource, Michele! Thanks. I can certainly raise my hand in admission of the “occasionally reactive club” membership. Here’s to no more of that!!
You’re welcome Akilah. Thanks for stopping by. I’ve been very intentional about being proactive this month, and so far it feels great to breathe and get things done. Then, when a reactive moment arises (they always do!), I can handle them without feeling completely stressed out.
you are the (wo)man!
Hi Michele,
Very Proactive post, and I do wish I could also sign up for care.com but since I am in India I dont think that will be a good idea. But a useful post though.
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